Sharktivity is an app that helps users track shark sightings. Photo: Sharktivity
Waze is a great app. It’s essentially a crowdsourced traffic report that tells you when users report having seen traffic accidents, police officers trying to catch people speeding, and a variety of other helpful information. It also gives you directions from A to B so you can take the fastest route possible.
But this isn’t an endorsement. This is just background information for the sake of a point of reference. Because earlier this month, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy released an app that is reminiscent of Waze – but for sharks.
The app, called Sharktivity, allows users to track and report sightings of sharks. Because if you weren’t terrified of being attacked by a shark before, you may have a change of heart when you see the overwhelming number of shark sightings depicted visually on a map – especially if you’re on the way to the beach.
Want to track white sharks off Cape Cod? Download @A_WhiteShark‘s @sharktivity app today! https://t.co/4gja37VDvw pic.twitter.com/yG54M5Be3W
— Sharktivity (@sharktivity) July 1, 2016
But Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a nonprofit in Chatham, Massachusetts, says they developed the app to raise awareness about sharks among the general public. And although the app has seen some initial traction in Cape Cod, AWSC representatives say the app can really be used anywhere as a way to report shark activity.
When users click on a particular sighting, they have an opportunity to view it in more detail and in some cases the report includes an image of the shark. The bottom line is the goal of the app is to provide the general public with legitimate information about shark movement in the area, erasing the public perception of sharks that is often sensationalized in the media.
