Cape Cod Town Rejects Shark Barrier Funding By 1 Vote

CHATHAM, MA — A single vote decided a proposal to fund a shark barrier in one Cape Cod community. Chatham Town Meeting voted 113-112 Tuesday to reject $100,000 in funding for a potential barrier at Oyster Pond, the Cape Cod Times reported.

The area is known as Children's Beach, where Chatham holds swimming lessons over the summer. The money would have gone toward a feasibility study and construction of the barrier if it was deemed necessary.

Selectman Jeffrey Dykens, who proposed the article, said he wanted to make sure one beach was shark-free.

But not everyone was sold on the proposal. One Town Meeting member called it a "pretty silly thing to be spending money on," saying it would be hard for a large shark to swim up the river leading to the tidal salt pond, according to the Times.

Communities on Cape Cod have been examining ways to curb increased shark activity along their shorelines. Last year, a 26-year-old man died in the state's first fatal shark attack in decades.