While much of the local shark focus is centered along Cape Cod, researchers want to remind people that sharks hunt for seals all along the state’s coast — as seen in a recent confirmed shark sighting.
A seal with a shark bite washed up dead on a North Shore beach on Wednesday, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app. The dead prey was reported at Beverly’s West Beach.
This doesn’t happen too often along the North Shore, but scientists get these reports from the north of Boston region every year, according to shark researcher John Chisholm.
“They’re not super common, but they do happen every year,” Chisholm, who runs the MA Sharks Twitter account and confirms shark sightings for the Sharktivity app, told the Herald.
“Most of the focus is on Cape Cod, but these sharks can show up everywhere,” he added. “They travel all along the coast.”
In addition to this dead seal from a shark bite in Beverly, there was also a recent confirmed shark sighting off of Gloucester’s Coffins Beach.
Researchers want people to submit shark sighting reports, along with incidents of seals with shark bites, to the Sharktivity app.
“We definitely want to hear about it,” said Chisholm, who’s also an adjunct scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life.
“Just because the seal shows up on a certain beach, it doesn’t mean that’s where it was bitten,” he added. “The shark bite usually happened in the vicinity, and it’s a good reminder for people to pay attention and follow the shark safety guidelines before they go in the water.”
Last weekend, a great white shark was spotted feasting on a seal off of Chatham’s Monomoy Island — which is a hotspot for great whites, and where the most shark detections happen every summer and fall.
Meanwhile, students on a Wednesday whale watch were treated to seeing a large basking shark off the Massachusetts coast. Captain John Boats reported that the filter feeding basking shark made its way up the side of the boat.
“One of just three plankton-eating species of shark, the basking shark filter feeds slowly through the water with a gaping mouth,” Captain John Boats wrote on social media.
“Despite its large size, ranging from 20 to 30 feet in adulthood, these sharks are gentle and non-aggressive,” Captain John Boats added. “We loved having the opportunity to enjoy an up close sighting!”
Visit Captain John Boats’ Facebook page for the basking shark video at www.facebook.com/CaptainJohnBoats.