An athlete will aim to be the first person to swim around Martha's Vineyard to educate the public on sharks.

Scientists monitoring the white shark population in the waters off Cape Cod are attaching better sensors to the predators, including cameras.

In a study published on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, researchers found the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has dropped more than 70% between 1970 and 2018. Their ability to quickly sense anything outside the norm in their environment helps them find prey in the vastness of the open ocean. AdGlobally, the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than 70% between 1970 and 2018, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. And 24 of the 31 species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, while three species — oceanic whitetip sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks and great hammerhead sharks — are considered critically endangered. And while climate change and pollution also imperil shark survival, increased fishing pressure is the greatest threat for every oceanic shark species.