The Dorsal Fin

A photo taken off Encinitas, California has been making news as of late. San Diego’s CBS 8 reports that the photo was taken off Swamis beach, and that a “local shark expert who confirmed that the shark in the photo is a 10 to 12 foot great white.”

While the CBS 8 report seems to take the stance that the image does, in fact, show a large shark, Encinitas Lifeguard Sgt. Robert Veria told CBS 8 that he believes the image is that of a surfer performing a duck dive and that the “fin” seen in the picture is merely the bent leg of the surfer. Additionally, none of the surfers in the water, many of whom appear to be in close proximity to the shape that is being referred to as a shark, reported seeing a shark.

A report on the photo also appeared on The Early Show which airs nationwide on CBS.

Is this an image of a white shark’s caudal fin or just a surfer’s leg? Feel free to sound off in the comments, if you have an opinion on the photo.

CBS 8 is reporting that a 2-mile stretch of Mission Beach in San Diego was closed yesterday following a shark sighting by a veteran lifeguard. The lifeguard reported seeing a dorsal fin approximately 18″ in height, which he believed to belong to a white shark.

The beach reopened this morning. However, CBS-8 is now reporting that a second shark sighting occurred at Mission Beach this morning.

It’s that time of year again in New England. MyFoxBoston.com is reporting that a 10′ great white shark was sighted off of Chatham, Massachusetts. This marks the 4th sighting in the area since the beginning of last week.

The Chatham Harbormaster confirmed the sighting and said the shark is where he “expected” a white shark would be. The shark was spotted off Monomoy Point, about 200-300 yards from the southernmost tip of Chatham.

Large seal populations have been drawing white sharks to the area during the summer months for a number of years.

NBC Philadelphia is reporting that a boater alerted the Coast Guard that he saw a 12′ great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) off of New Jersey’s Island Beach. The boater reported that the shark was at least 200 yards from the shore, but “not too far” from the bathers at the nearest beach. Lifeguards were alerted after the report, but no beaches were closed as a result. The boater who reported the sighting was the only witness to report seeing the shark.

While some remain skeptical of the reported sighting, due to the fact that white shark sightings in the area are rare, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for a white shark would be in the area this time of year. Tracking data has shown that white sharks migrate up the East Coast as summer approaches and water temperatures rise.

(Video included primarily for the photo of the white shark. Enjoy the rest of it as you see fit.)

It seems at least one great white shark has already made the trek to Massachusetts waters for the summer (assuming that all white sharks actually leave the area during the “off-season”). Fishermen spotted the white shark circling the carcass of a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) about a mile off Gay Head, according to an article from The Boston Herald.

Boat captain Jeff Lynch said the shark was as big as his boat and estimated the length of the shark at 20′. Reginald Zimmerman of the Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs estimated the shark at over 17′ and added that “it could have been 20 feet,” according to Herald report.

DMF biologist Gregory Skomal had hoped to tag the shark but did not arrive on the scene in time, according to the Boston Globe. The white shark disappeared after NOAA and Environmental Police towed the whale carcass away.

While white sharks are not uncommon in Massachusetts waters, this is the first confirmed white shark sighting in the area this season.