Shark Week episode shines light on increased great whites off Nova Scotia’s coast

CITYnews halifax / By Chris Halef

A new documentary shined a light on great white sharks off the coast of Nova Scotia.

The documentary called “Great White North Invasion” premiered during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel this week.

The documentary was filmed off the coast of Lunenburg last October and follows a research team as they tag sharks and research shark populations off the province’s coast.

The film explores the rise of great white sharks in the once calm waters of Canada’s East Coast which are now seeing more cases of swimmers and boaters come into close contact with these apex predators.

Edward Peill, the executive producer of the film, told CityNews Halifax part of their research is establishing the population of great white sharks in our waters, adding there have been roughly 250 white sharks tagged.

“There’s one array of receivers in Mahone Bay that a research named Nigel Hussey has been collecting that information. He’s had 100 tagged white sharks go through that array last year,” he said. “Our experience so far, we’ve seen 59 sharks, call it 60 for easy math. Of those 60, only three had a tag meaning the ratio for tagged to untagged is 20 to one. So for every tagged shark that shows up here, multiply by 20.”

Photo of great white shark underwater from “Great White North Invasion” documentary episode on Shark Week. (Phillips PR | Handout)

The film also includes underwater dives to the Saguenay shipwreck while great whites are actively hunting nearby.

Peill said this 360-foot shipwreck was established 30 years ago as an artificial reef and the team want to test their theory that it’s now become a magnet for great whites.

The documentary aired on July 22 on the Discovery Channel but is still available to watch on demand on Discovery Plus.

Andy Casagrande seen while filming “Great White North Invasion” documentary in Nova Scotia. (Phillips PR | Handout)