June 18, 2018 — Shark season in New England officially kicked off this week, and marine biologists have already detected the first three great whites of the year off the coast of Cape Cod.
The sharks first showed up on marine biologists’ scanners June 7 and have been detected off the outer Cape intermittently since Tuesday, said Greg Skomal, a shark expert at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
The research team began checking receivers on the Cape on Thursday and were able to pick up signals from Monomoy Island to Wellfleet, Skomal said.
“I don’t think the sharks have left. I’m sure they’re still around,” he said. “And more and more will start trickling in as time goes on over the course of the month.”
The researchers detected the great whites in multiple areas over several days — including the first, whom biologists call Omar, off the coast of Orleans on June 7, followed by another shark, Turbo, near Wellfleet two days later, said Marianne Long, the education director at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which is assisting the Division of Marine Fisheries in the research.
Sandy, the third great white, was also detected swimming near Orleans on Monday, and Omar was detected again in Chatham on Tuesday, Long said.
Many sharks in the area have acoustic tags on them, she said, so although none of these sharks were actually spotted, the receivers picked up their acoustic signals.
The region has been “very active” with sharks in the past several years, Skomal said.
“These are great whites, and they feed on seals during the summertime,” he said. “We have a sizable seal population on the Cape, so that’s where they usually go.”
The shark season usually begins in June and can last until November, Long said. Most Cape Cod residents and vacationers are generally aware of the marine animals, she said, but she advised the public to be cautious and avoid swimming beyond waist-deep waters, especially off the coast.
“It’s important that when people go to the beach, they read all the signage to make them aware of all the recent sightings,” she said. “We do have these large animals off the coast in the water.”