\u201cAtlantic Canada is the new white-shark population on the planet, at the moment,\u201d says Nigel Hussey, professor of movement and trophic ecology at the University of Windsor. While there is some uncertainty as to the extent to which white sharks are moving in, scientists say that all signs point to a local population that\u2019s growing, as white sharks recover from overexploitation and move northward because of warming waters.<\/p>\n
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The town of Lunenburg lies along Nova Scotia\u2019s south shore, which has become a seasonal hot spot for white sharks. Photo by Canada by Alexis.<\/p>\n
That increasing presence elicits complex feelings in the region. White sharks have an almost unparalleled ability to inspire fear \u2013 yet sharks also have the potential to bring new benefits to the region: in research opportunities, in economic activity and in healthy ecosystems. But experts note that some white-shark prep work is also required, especially in a region billed as \u201cCanada\u2019s ocean playground\u201d by one province\u2019s licence plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting, but also there is some degree of challenge for [Canada] to start generating the data to manage it, because it\u2019s an endangered species . . . and to manage the risk of negative human\u2013shark interactions,\u201d Hussey says.<\/p>\n
A shark sector is born<\/p>\n
Ocean shorelines exert a magnetic pull for vacationers around the world; coastal and maritime tourism represents a significant portion of the global tourist economy, generating approximately US$3 trillion in 2025. Shark- and ray-based tourism is an increasing share of this, producing about US$314 million<\/a> annually from activities such as diving, fishing and boat tours, according to one 2013 study. Shark tourism takes place in dozens of countries<\/a>, and in some cases, researchers suggest that it has the potential to contribute more to gross domestic product than fishing.<\/p>\n In Atlantic Canada, this activity is still in its infancy.<\/p>\n The first company to offer cage diving tours began operating on Nova Scotia\u2019s south shore roughly three years ago. In starting the business, marine biologist Neil Hammerschlag was inspired by his master\u2019s degree in South Africa decades before, where he ran cage diving tours to fund his research. After an academic career in the United States, he began looking for a way to return to Canada and, seeing the increasing number of shark sightings in Nova Scotia, recognized a chance to return to his roots: \u201cI thought, why not kind of use this idea of combining cage diving and the public\u2019s interest in sharks with science, and essentially came up with this concept for Atlantic Shark Expeditions, which is cage diving to support science.\u201d<\/p>\n Hammerschlag says it took a few seasons, but Atlantic Shark Expeditions has managed to dial in its formula. In 2025, they saw white sharks on every expedition and identified 109 different individuals, tagging six sharks with satellite tags. The company has taken hundreds of people on white-shark expeditions, many of whom describe being motivated by the desire to participate in research or to see sharks up close. \u201cInterestingly, it\u2019s not thrill-seekers at all,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Hammerschlag\u2019s operation came up against some local opposition initially. Local surfers and other ocean recreationalists raised concerns that its approach would make human\u2013shark conflict more likely. Some of that concern was fuelled by rumour. People had heard that the company was throwing fresh chunks of fish in the water, a practice known as chumming, meant to draw the species in. Hammerschlag denies this, though the company does use tuna and seal blubber as bait. It also lowers waterproof speakers into the water to produce a low-frequency sound attractive to sharks. Hammerschlag acknowledges that some people have concerns about changing shark behaviour, but he says their own research doesn\u2019t support the idea that bait causes sharks to hang around. Of the 109 sharks they saw, most they saw only once. \u201cIf they\u2019re being habituated, you would expect to see the same ones day in and day out, right? But you don\u2019t. You see completely different ones. They\u2019re moving through.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers in other jurisdictions where shark tourism is more established have drawn similar conclusions. Studies of wildlife tourism in Mexico<\/a> and Australia<\/a> found no long-term habituation from baiting, though that didn\u2019t stop Mexico from banning white-shark tourism<\/a> on Guadalupe Island in 2023, citing bad practices in the industry that had sometimes proved deadly \u2013 for the sharks.<\/p>\n This reflects the broader reality: there were 12 confirmed fatalities from shark encounters worldwide in 2025, and there were 65 \u201cunprovoked\u201d attacks, including one in Nova Scotia, where a white shark bit through a paddleboard at a beach near Halifax (the paddler was unharmed). That pales in comparison to the number of sharks killed by humans, which exceeds 100 million a year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite these stark figures, sharks are nonetheless often perceived as remorseless killers and humans their defenceless victims \u2013 a narrative whose strength demonstrates just how deep-seated (and culturally reinforced) our fear of them is. In Atlantic Canada, scientists warn, a lack of familiarity and preparation has the potential to drive conflict.<\/p>\n Nigel Hussey, who runs a field research station tracking sharks on Nova Scotia\u2019s southshore, says that everywhere else in the world where there are significant white shark populations, there are programs to mitigate the interactions with people that will inevitably occur. Yet in Atlantic Canada, these are so far lacking.<\/p>\n Sharks are not interested in people, Hussey says, but because they spend most of their time in the same part of the ocean that we do, conflict can arise. \u201cWe\u2019re certainly at a point, and have been for a while now, where [Nova Scotia] needs to acknowledge white sharks are here and they\u2019re here in numbers,\u201d he says. Without the right data and preparation, there\u2019s a risk of a negative encounter, he says, which could in turn be negative for shark conservation.<\/p>\n Steve Crawford, professor of integrative biology at the University of Guelph, points out that visitors may not understand that white sharks are now part of\u00a0<\/p>\n the environment in Atlantic Canada. For several years, Crawford says, he\u2019s been advocating for white-shark signage and accompanying trauma kits at popular coastal destinations in the region, as beaches in Maine and Massachusetts have done. \u201cTo date, not a single government agency anywhere in Atlantic Canada has made the responsible decision to provide this kind of risk-management signage.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting the opportunity right<\/p>\n Increasing numbers of sharks are not only a source of risk \u2013 they\u2019re also a draw.<\/p>\n![\"Description](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782314362_483_Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-11.29.11-AM.png\")
<\/a>Nominate a young sustainability leader in Canada.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/scuba-sharks.png\")
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Cage diving isn\u2019t the only\u00a0appeal. White sharks have the potential to fuel a range of economic activity, from scientific research and tourism to wildlife documentary production. \u201cThere is a whole economic ecosystem around white sharks that could be very positive in Nova Scotia, but we all acknowledge\u00a0. . . we need regulations in place,\u201d Hussey says.<\/p>\n