


A great white shark was recently spotted jumping out of the water to catch a striped bass on a fishing line in Cape Cod Bay.
Shark sightings along the Massachusetts coast have been rising in the last few weeks, as more of the apex predators move north to the region for the summer and fall. Some Cape beaches were closed to swimming last week due to several shark sightings.
While most of the shark reports show the animal lurking below the water’s surface, a recent great white sighting was a shark leaping into the air.
“White shark jumped and caught our striped bass on the line!” a witness on the fishing boat posted on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app, along with a photo of the mid-air shark.
The shark sighting was reported off of Eastham in Cape Cod Bay on Friday evening.
Many of the shark reports last week were along the Outer Cape, close to shore near popular beaches. That led to the closure of some beaches to swimming.
Wellfleet Lifeguards sent out a reminder about their shark safety protocols following the recent shark sightings and shark receiver buoy pings. The lifeguards will first whistle everyone out of the water.
“Lifeguards will fly the black shark flag and red flag to indicate the water is closed due to shark activity,” Wellfleet Lifeguards posted on social media.
“Lifeguards will keep the water closed: for one hour from a confirmed sighting (this is a cape-wide protocol),” they added. “Until we receive an absent message from the receiver buoy (if the message comes in before one hour, we will fly the purple shark flag and a yellow flag letting you know to use caution if you choose to enter the water ); or for as long as lifeguards feel it is necessary based on their judgement and expertise.”
The lifeguards advise beachgoers to pay attention to the flags and lifeguards to know when the water is reopened.