Cape shark sightings, detections increasing as weather heats up
Great white shark sightings and detections are starting to increase along the Cape as the weather heats up and more people head to the ocean.
One great white shark — a nearly 11-foot female tagged off the Cape last summer — has already traveled north of Provincetown, according to OCEARCH’s shark tracker.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Sharktivity app has recent shark sightings during the first week of June. A pilot flying out of Chatham Airport during a sightseeing tour last week spotted a great white about a half mile off Marconi Beach in Wellfleet.
The Sharktivity app is also showing an unconfirmed shark sighting off of South Monomoy Island on Saturday.
Other than Andromache already traveling north of Provincetown after hanging out for a bit off the Cape, OCEARCH’s shark tracker is showing other great whites migrating back to the Cape. That includes Monomoy, a 6-foot juvenile male that was last detected off Long Island.
Monomoy was the first juvenile ever tagged by OCEARCH in the Cape Cod area. He’s named after Monomoy Island near where he was tagged last summer.
Charlotte has also recently been detected off Long Island heading toward the Cape. The 8-foot juvenile female was tagged earlier this year off the North Carolina coast.
“Charlotte is a young teenager, not yet entering sexual maturity,” said Bob Hueter, OCEARCH’s chief scientist. “With her 10-year acoustic tag, five-year SPOT tag and one-year PSAT tag, we will be able to track Charlotte as she grows into full adulthood.”
Then there’s Martha, who was last detected off the New Jersey coast migrating up the east coast. The 7-foot juvenile female was tagged off the Cape last summer, and is named after Martha’s Vineyard.
Many recent shark sightings along the Cape have also been basking sharks. With many people mistaking basking shark fins for a white shark, the Massachusetts Sharks Twitter account this week reminded people how to tell them apart.
There are some key features that can help differentiate the two sharks, including the shape of that dorsal fin. The basking shark has a large, triangular-shape dorsal fin, which is slightly rounded at the top. The white shark also has a large, triangular-shape dorsal fin, but its fin comes to a point at the apex.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3puhKVD
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