Shark expert to speak at Cultural Center

Great White Shark expert to speak Jan. 21 Over the last two decades, Cape Cod has been transformed from a place where great white sharks were rarely seen to be one of the largest seasonal gatherings of sharks anywhere in the world—the first such hotspot in the North Atlantic. Renowned shark expert Dr. Greg Skomal will discuss the reasons for this transformation and provide many other insights into these most feared, but fascinating creatures, during a program Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Old Main Street, South Yarmouth. Skomal is a senior fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts and director of the Massachusetts Shark Research program. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on the great white shark, and has appeared in a broad range of film and television documentaries. He is also interested in creatures much smaller than the great white. He has written 11 books on aquarium keeping, including his most recent “Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark.” The lecture is sponsored by the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers and are available online at hsoy.org/events. Tickets may be available at the door if the program doesn’t sell out. The society will sponsor three more lectures this winter on Feb. 4, Feb. 11 and March 10. Check the website for information.