iStockphoto / Alessandro De Maddalena
Audio By Carbonatix
While Memorial Day is still a few weeks out marking the unofficial ‘official’ start of the Summer season in Nantucket the Massachusetts island just had its first great white shark sighting of the year. A seal that had been bitten by a shark which was later determined to be a great white was spotted off Smith’s Point in Madaket.
Over the years, the coastal area between Nantucket and Cape Cod have become the most popular place in North America for great white shark activity. Scientists have discovered the region serves the sharks in many ways from a breeding ground to an abundance of life with water teeming with seals. And the first one of the year has shown up.
A video of a bloody seal after being attacked by a shark, which was later confirmed to be the first Nantucket great white of the year by Massachusetts marine biologist John Chisholm , was shared on X (née Twitter) by the Nantucket Current. The video of the seal is underneath this YouTube video but I wanted to put it down a little further for those reading this who would prefer to not see blood.
Looking at the seal which was bitten, on its way out, it is hard not to feel sympathy for the animal but nature is brutal and this serves as a reminder that in Nantucket and elsewhere across the region these great white sharks sit at the top of the food chain in the water. For those that want to see the video of the seal, it can be viewed here on X.
When I say there are a lot of great white sharks in Nantucket I mean A LOT. Between 2015 and 2018, biologists documented 800 sightings and there’s only reason to believe those numbers have risen in recent years.
For those visiting the idyllic Massachusetts island this Summer, be careful at the beach and always use common sense when swimming!