Great White Shark Sighted in Cape Cod Bay

great white sharkSANDWICH – A Sandwich fisherman recorded video images of a great white shark he spotted Monday morning while fishing in Cape Cod Bay.

Captain Tyler Macallister of the sport fishing boat the F/V Cynthia C out of Sandwich posted video of the big fish on his Facebook page and wrote, “This is a short video of a very large shark we came across yesterday [Monday] in Cape Cod Bay. . . . This was a 16 to 18′ female that hung around the boat for 10 minutes. I was very much in awe by the grace and beauty of this animal.”

Shark expert Dr. Gregory Skomal, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Senior Scientist, said he has seen the video of the shark and interviewed Macallister. He confirmed the sighting as a great white.

“I’ve had a chance to look at the video and certainly it is a great white shark and a good sized one. But nothing unusual from our perspective. It’s something we anticipate happening this time of year. People will start seeing white sharks as they begin moving into southern New England and New England waters.

Skomal has tagged 38 great white sharks off the coast of Cape Cod over the past five years but he said the large female spotted by Macallister this week is not one his team has tagged.

“Although we’ve tagged 38 white sharks up here in New England that one did not have a tag and it did not have any markings to distinguish it from other sharks. So as far as we can tell, it is not one we have seen before,” Skomal said.

Skomal said great white shark sightings are not unusual this time of year.

“Based on the research we’ve conducted to date, white sharks appear to move up into our waters by late May and then stay through the summer into the fall. Most are gone by the end of November,” he said.

Skomal said the Division of Marine Fisheries works closely with local fishermen in tracking sharks.

Video from F/V Cynthia C’s Facebook page.



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