The Dorsal Fin

Boston’s NECN is reporting that three Chatham beaches have been closed indefinitely after beachgoers witnessed a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) preying on a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) “close to beach.” The three beaches closed are North Beach, North Beach Island and South Beach are closed to swimming. A swimming ban from 5pm to 9:30am still remains in effect for Chatham’s Lighthouse Beach.

NECN reports that a ban on swimming between 5pm and 9:30am has been put into effect along east-facing beaches in Chatham, Massachusetts. The ban began Wednesday (August 10) after a white shark was spotted “a little too close to shore,” according to the report.

While the report notes that the feeding time for white sharks is “from dusk ’til dawn,” white sharks have been documented to feed during daylight hours. The ban coincides with times when officials are not able to patrol those areas for sharks, which is likely a more reasonable explanation for the time-frame of the ban, which was also pointed out in the report.

NECN.com is reporting that three great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) sightings have been reported in the Cape Cod area, including two sightings off Chatham, Massachusetts. NECN also reports that interest in the sharks has resulted in an increase in tourism in the area. Tourists are visiting Cape Cod beaches in hopes of catching a glimpse of a white shark. Local businesses have been trying to capitalize on the interest in the sharks by carrying shark-related products.

All in all a fairly objective report on the great white shark presence in Cape Cod, if you ignore the cliché “Jaws” reference from the anchorwoman.

One day after a fatal shark attack off of Stuart Beach, sightings of large schools of sharks off of nearby Palm Beach are being reported.

According to WPTV.com, the number of sharks spotted off of Reef Road was “easily more than a hundred.”
The species of sharks seen in the video was not reported.

At the time of the WPTV.com report, lifeguards were monitoring the migrating sharks to determine whether or not beach closings would be necessary.

According to ABC, a swimming ban was put into effect at multiple Chatham beaches after multiple great white shark sightings were confirmed in the area. According to WCBV-TV three white sharks were spotted Saturday evening. Chatham officials have placed the no-swimming ban in effect until at least mid-week for all east-side beaches. The good news is that researchers were able to tag two of the sharks, one of which was tagged within 75 yards of the coastline.

Two great white sharks have been tagged with satellite tracking devices off of Cape Cod

Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Wildlife, along with a team of fishermen, were able to tag two of the great white sharks with satellite tracking devices. Skomal described the tagging of the two white sharks as being “fantastic,” from a scientific perspective.The event marked the first time that great white sharks had been tagged in the Atlantic, according to a WCBV video feature. Update: Multiple news sources are now saying that this weekend’s taggings of two great white sharks mark the second and third time white sharks have been tagged in the Atlantic.

It is also worth pointing out that the WCBV video feature makes note that at least one aspect of tourism in the area has received a bit of boost, due to the shark sightings. An interest in excursions to attempt to view the great whites has increased business for at least one excursion operator who typically runs trips to view seals.

Both the ABC report and the WCBV-TV reports managed to do a decent job of objectively reporting the story, without throwing in the typical hype. Hopefully, the tagging of the sharks will provide information that will help lead to a better understanding of a species that is often misrepresented and misunderstood.