Great white sightings off Cape Cod skyrocket as peak shark season arrives

CHATHAM, Mass. — Great white sightings off Cape Cod have skyrocketed in recent days as summer in southern New England shifts into peak shark season.

There were 14 shark sightings reported on Tuesday, with some of the predators coming within 50 yards of beaches in Chatham, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app. There were another 14 sightings reported as of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

More than 20 sharks were spotted over the weekend. Nauset Beach in Orleans closing for several hours on Saturday.

A hammerhead shark was also recently spotted hunting for fish in the water near a beach on Nantucket.

Hammerhead shark seen hunting for fish near Nantucket beach (Lisa Larson/Instagram)

July tends to be when great whites appear in large numbers as the Cape’s waters warm, with sightings peaking from August through October, according to Megan Winton, a scientist with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

Researchers have tagged more than 280 great whites off the cape, with nearly 230 of those tags still active, according to the scientists.

Sharks named Warren, Iceland, Fruit Loops, Ken, Luke, and Ronald Tarentino Jr. have been detected by buoys in recent days.

Beachgoers are urged to be most vigilant when swimming off beaches where the shoreline quickly drops off into deeper waters.

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