They're Back! Great White Sharks Return to Massachusetts Waters
By Marc Fortier ••
Department of Marine Fisheries Scientist Greg Skomal was using his GoPro to track white sharks off Cape Cod when the shark approached his camera.
It's official: The great white sharks have returned to Massachusetts waters ahead of the summer.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy went out on its first shark tagging expedition of the season on Thursday, and though they didn't spot any sharks, three great whites were detected by some of the shark buoy receivers off the Massachusetts coast.
According to the Sharktivity app, the sharks were detected on the outer Cape. One was detected between Eastham and Wellfleet, and two were seen off Chatham.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This image of a white shark was taken by a GoPro!
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This 8 to 10 foot great white shark was spotted off Race Point Beach in Provinceton on July 9.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Matt Mendoza
This small white shark was spotted seven miles east of Chatham on July 5.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This 13 foot female great white shark was tagged on July 3 off Chatham by Dr. Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Wayne Davis
An aerial image of a great white that was tagged by Dr. Greg Skomal off Chatham on July 3.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
The first great white shark tagging of the season took place on July 3 off North Beach Island in Chatham.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Marty Thomas
This grey seal washed up on Nauset Beach on June 30 after being bitten by a white shark.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Wayne Davis
This great white was one of three spotted off Nauset Beach and Monomoy Island on June 29.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/PS King
This photo of Omar, an 11 foot male great white shark, was captured on June 28.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Another photo of Omar from June 26. He was the fifth previously tagged white shark to return to Chatham this season.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Maria Osborne
This great white was spotted 200 yards off Minot Lighthouse on June 25.
This humpback whale stranded itself on Monomoy Island on June 21.
Another photo of the stranded humpback whale.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/PS King
Another photo of the stranded humpback whale off Monomoy Island.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Dr. Greg Skomal tags the first great white shark of the season off Cape Cod on June 21.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Wayne Davis
The first confirmed white shark sighting of the 2017 season, off Monomoy Island.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This great white shark was spotted off Cape Cod on July 10.
NBC Boston/Tim Kelley
This dead shark was spotted off Scituate on July 8.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
'Jenna' is named after Jenna Bush Hager, who rode along when this shark was tagged in mid-July.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Another photo of Jenna off Cape Cod.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This underwater footage gathered by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shows a curious great white shark checking out a GoPro camera.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This great white shark was spotted in Cape Cod Bay on July 16.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This great white was spotted off the Cape on July 16.
Olivia Amber
This great white was captured on in Cape Cod Bay on July 16, 5 miles off First Encounter Beach, in Eastham.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Flash was spotted off Cape Cod last summer and again on July 20 of this year.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy/Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries
This great white was tagged on July 20.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This 11-foot great white shark, Omar, was tagged off Chatham on July 20.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This shark was captued on video on July 26. It's the fourth year in a row it's been spotted off Cape Cod.
L. Graff/Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This photo was taken during a white shark research trip on July 31.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy tagged this 12-foot great white shark off Chatham on July 31.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This great white shark was spotted off Cape Cod on Aug. 7, 2017.
PS King/Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This great white was spotted off a research vessel on Aug. 6, 2017.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This half seal was spotted off Chaltham Harbor on August 10 by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
MA Sharks
Check out this shark tagged on August 10.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Dr. Greg Skomal tagged the 9th white shark of the season, an 11 foot shark spotted off the coast of Nauset.
MA Sharks
Here's Scratchy the shark who was tagged on August 10.
MA Sharks
Another shark tagged on August 10.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This image of a white shark was taken by a GoPro!
Joanne Jarzobski/SeaSalt Charters
A photo of one of the great white sharks that was seen feeding on a dead minke whale off Cape Cod.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Some great whites were caught feeding on a dead minke whale off Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Aug. 13.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Hap Farrell
Captain Hap Farrell captured a great white jumping out of the water while fishing on the Stunmai II out of Rock Harbor, Orleans, on Aug. 13.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Dr. Greg Skomal tagged an 11 foot shark off Nauset Beach in Orleans, Mass., on August 14.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Another shot of Dr. Skomal's shark from August 14.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Here's an underwater shot of the 11 foot shark.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Alex the shark was also tagged on August 14.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Here's Julia who Dr. Skomal tagged back in 2013. She's a 16 foot shark spotted near Provincetown.
MA Sharks
Check out STT who was tagged on July 23.
MA Sharks
Here's "The Rock" who was tagged on August 14.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This shark was spotted feeding on a dead Minke whale off Provincetown on August 11.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Danny Wild
Danny Wild snapped this photo of members from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy with a shark that was eating a dead minke whale.
Danny Wild
The shark was eating the whale off the coast of Provincetown in Cape Cod Bay near Race Point Light.
Danny Wild
Danny Wild
Danny Wild
Danny Wild
Danny Wild
Danny Wild
Danny Wild
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Here's Dr. Greg Skomal tagging a shark off the coast of Cape Cod on August 18.
MA Sharks
Here's Sean the shark, tagged on August 17.
MA Sharks
Here's WS who was tagged back on July 15 in 2016 and Oceanus who was tagged on July 31st 2017.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This 12-foot great white was tagged off Monomoy Island on Oct. 18, 2017.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This 15-foot white shark was tagged a quarter mile off Nauset Beach on Oct. 18, 2017.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
This great white was spotted feeding on a seal off Chatham, Massachusetts on Oct. 21.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy also shared video on Facebook that was shot from a whale watching boat last Saturday showing a shark killing a seal off Provincetown.
"A shark attacking a seal," a voice on the video says. "Not for the faint of heart."
Typically, mid-June is when most great white sharks arrive in the New England area. Last year was a particularly active year for great whites off Cape Cod, with dozens of sightings and several beach closures due to sharks being spotted swimming close to shore.
