Shark spotters have sure been busy these last few weeks along the Cape and Islands, including over the weekend as several shark alerts lit up the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.
Multiple great white shark sightings continued to trigger beach closures on Sunday. Two beaches on Martha’s Vineyard were closed to swimming for two hours following apex predator sightings.
“SHARK ALERT !!” tweeted MA Sharks, which is run by local shark expert John Chisholm, who confirms sightings for the Sharktivity app. “South Beach & Norton Point, Edgartown closed to swimming due to multiple shark sightings.”
There was also an unconfirmed sighting of three sharks in that same area of Martha’s Vineyard earlier on Sunday.
Many sharks were again spotted off of Nauset Beach in Orleans, a hotbed of recent great white activity during the busiest shark month of the year. One great white shark was seen only about 25 yards from the Nauset shoreline, according to a shark sighting report Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, a great white was spotted about 150 to 200 yards offshore of Nauset Beach.
The other Cape Cod shark hot spot in recent weeks has been Chatham, where many sharks were seen close to shore on Sunday.
“White shark spotted off of North Beach Island, Chatham,” stated the shark alert. “About 150 yards from shore.”
A great white was seen off of Monomoy Island, about 75 yards from the shore.
Sharks were also spotted off the northern edge of the Outer Cape on Sunday. A pilot reported seeing a great white shark northeast of Provincetown, and a pilot also spotted a great white north of Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro.
Great whites hunt for seals close to shore along the Cape during the summer and early fall. August is the busiest shark month in the region, according to shark detection data from recent years of tagged white sharks.
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