Recent shark sightings: Map shows great whites off coast of northern New England

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — Some great white sharks have journeyed past Cape Cod and are now lurking in the water off the coast of northern New England.

There have been two confirmed great white shark sightings off Maine this week, according to the Chatham-based Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app. These come a week after sightings were reported in the water off the South Shore and North Shore of Massachusetts.

Shoals Marine Lab staff spotted an eight-foot white shark swimming at the surface of the water near the Maine side of the Isle of Shoals, not far from New Hampshire’s seacoast, the Conservancy’s real-time shark activity map showed.

The second sighting came more than 40 miles north near Richmond Island off Cape Elizabeth, where a seven-foot white shark was spotted in the water, the map indicated.

In a Massachusetts sighting, a fisherman photographed a white shark stealing bass in the Inner Cape Cod Bay Area of Critical Environmental Concern near Rock Harbor Beach.

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.

The icons on the map indicate the following:

• Red alert icon: A white shark sighting is confirmed close to a public beach
• Blue shark fin icon: A confirmed white shark sighting
• Orange shark fin icon: An unconfirmed white shark sighting
• Yellow icon: A receiver that detects white sharks tagged with acoustic tags and transmits the data in real-time
• Purple icon: A real-time detection of a shark tagged with an acoustic tag that is less than an hour old
• Orange icon: Detections of sharks tagged with acoustic transmitters
• Green icon: The shark’s dorsal fin breaks the surface and the tag transmits to overhead satellites

The Sharktivity app, which is available to download on iPhone and Android, tracks sightings fed by researchers, safety officials, and users who upload photos for confirmation.

John Chisholm, adjunct scientist at New England Aquarium, recently told Boston 25 they are expecting more sharks this year as the seal population continues to grow.

“No matter where you’re going into the water, whether that’s Cape Cod or Gloucester or Plymouth, you need to be shark smart,” Chisholm cautioned beachgoers.

While the last shark attack in Massachusetts was in 2020, the growing numbers of seals and sharks should make beachgoers more alert, Chisholm advised.

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