The Dorsal Fin

Five shark sightings near Monomy Island have drawn media attention to the Chatham, Massachusetts area once again. (Possible white shark sightings near Chatham drew media attention last month, as well.) According to NECN, at least one of the sharks spotted was confirmed as a great white shark. Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries says that seal populations are the likely cause of the presence of sharks. While Skomal encourages beach-goers to pay attention whenever they enter the ocean, when asked if it was safe to go back in the water, he said, “I’d go swimming.” As common sense would dictate, swimmers are being warned to avoid areas with large seal congregations, since seals are a natural food source for large sharks.

The video footage above is not without its share of cliche sensationalism and comes complete with the obligatory Jaws reference, a ridiculously facetious “fish story,” and a reporter suggesting to a child that being in the water with sharks might result in the child being eaten. While white sharks are not uncommon in the New England area, particularly around this time of year, the last recorded fatal shark attack in Massachusetts waters occurred in 1936.