sharks

Six Sharks Spotted Off Cape Cod Friday Morning, 20 in Past 2 Days

"It's shaping up to be very busy so please be #SharkSmart and follow safety guidelines," Massachusetts shark biologist John Chisholm said on Twitter

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Shark season on Cape Cod appears to be heating up, as six great white sharks were spotted off the coast on Friday morning and 20 have been spotted over the past two days alone.

The first sighting on Friday was reported at 9:17 a.m. off North Beach Island, followed by subsequent sightings at 9:28 a.m. just outside the north inlet to Chatham Harbor, at 9:55 a.m. off the Nauset ORV trails, at 10:19 and 10:43 a.m. off Nauset Beach, and at 11:10 a.m. off the beach a quarter mile south of the Nauset Inlet, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's Sharktivity app.

There was no immediate word on whether any area beaches were closed to swimming.

"It's shaping up to be very busy so please be #SharkSmart and follow safety guidelines," Massachusetts shark biologist John Chisholm said on Twitter.

Friday's sightings are among 20 reported over the past two days off Cape Cod, from as far south as Chatham and as far north as Provincetown. One was even spotted in Cape Cod Bay.

A floating dead seal was also found between lower Goose and Pettengill islands off of Maine on Thursday with what appeared to be shark bite markings. No actual shark was seen, however.

Maine has seen a higher number of shark sightings than usual this summer, including one captured feeding on a seal off Whitehead Island Lighthouse in Tenants Harbor.

Sharks flock to New England's waters following seals. Purple flags warning of sharks in the area have become commonplace as lifeguards help beachgoers coexist with the predators, which rarely attack people.

The last deadly shark attack in New England was in Maine in July 2020. A man also died in a shark attack on Cape Cod in 2018, the first fatal shark attack in Massachusetts in over 80 years.

Already this summer, there have been five shark attacks off Long Island in New York, but none off the coast of Massachusetts.

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