‘Incredible and rare’: Hammerhead shark spotted in water off Massachusetts

CHATHAM, Mass. — A hammerhead shark was recently spotted in the water off Massachusetts in an “incredible and rare” occurrence, officials said.

The smooth hammerhead sighting happened off Monomoy Island in Chatham on July 20, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

Wow! What an incredible (and rare) smooth hammerhead sighting,” the Conservancy wrote in a Facebook post. “We may be a white shark organization but we will always appreciate a special shark sighting.”

Hammerhead sharks prefer tropical waters but they tend to travel long distances, according to NOAA. They are typically spotted between New Jersey down to Florida, as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

There have been a slew of great white shark sightings this summer off Cape Cod and the Islands. Great whites have also been seen as far north as Maine near the Isle of Shoals and Richmond Island.

In addition to great white sightings, predations involving dead seals and sharks feeding on a whale carcass have also been reported by Sharktivity users in recent weeks.

The Conservancy shared an interactive map with Boston 25, showing reported shark sightings in real-time and sightings with photos, as well as confirmed acoustic detections of tagged sharks.

The map’s menu tools allow users to filter shark sightings as recent as 48 hours, over the last 30 days, or between a custom date range.