Scientists at the Boston Aquarium are urging beachgoers to report any great white shark sightings this holiday weekend after several marine mammals were found to have been bitten by sharks.
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer in New England, and the region is already experiencing great beach weather. John Chisholm, an adjunct scientist at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Marine Life Center, said that’s reason enough to keep an eye out for the sharks, also known as great whites.
The aquarium recently received reports of a minke whale being bitten by a great white shark off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts, and scientists expect to see sharks heading into coastal waters to prey on seals again this time of year, the aquarium said Thursday.
500-pound, 95-year-old sea turtle at New England Aquarium passes health check
“We haven’t seen any great whites yet this season, but we know they’re here,” Chisholm said. “With the weather being bad at the beach and Memorial Day weekend approaching, this is a good time to remind people to review the shark safety guidelines and be smart about sharks.”
FILE – A great white shark swims in the Outer Bay exhibit, a 1-million-gallon display of a wide variety of marine life, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004. Scientists at the Boston Aquarium are urging beachgoers to report great white shark sightings this holiday weekend after several marine mammals showed signs of shark bite marks. (AP Photo/Salinas Californian, Richard Green, File)
Chisholm said swimmers would be wise to be aware of sharks in shallow waters and to avoid areas where seals were present or schools of fish could be seen.
The public can report great white shark sightings through the Atlantic White Shark Conservation Society’s Sharktivity app New England has been in the news in recent years about an increase in great white shark sightings.
Efforts are underway up and down the East Coast to better track great whites, with the Great White Conservancy announcing last month that a second camera tag had been fitted to a great white.
The conservation group said the camera tags are essential to better understand the Northwest Atlantic great white shark population. The device was fastened to the fin of a female great white shark off the coast of South Carolina, according to the conservation group. The group worked with charter boat captain Chip Michalove to secure the “shark’s eye view” camera to the large fish.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“I never thought I’d be grabbing a great white shark’s dorsal fin and applying this technology,” Michalove said.
