Well, there was a great white attack in Massachusetts on July 30.
It was just confirmed yesterday:
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) confirmed on Tuesday that the shark that bit a Colorado man swimming off a Cape Cod beach on July 30 was a white shark. It marks the first confirmed white shark attack in Massachusetts in 76 years.
“Working with George Burgess, the curator of the International Shark Attack File, officials from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries have determined that the injuries sustained by Chris Myers off Ballston Beach, Truro on July 30 can be attributed to a great white shark,” said Reginald Zimmerman, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “This conclusion was reached after examination of the injuries and testimony from Myers.”
Over the last several years white shark sightings have increased off the coast of Massachusetts. DMF researchers have been monitoring and tagging white sharks since 2009.
Cape Cod is home to a relatively large colony of gray seals, which the sharks are definitely hunting.
This part of the country has had very few shark attacks.
Shark attacks aren’t that common anyway, but on the Atlantic Coast, they are virtually unheard of north of Cape Hatteras.
There have been fatal great white attacks in Massachusetts history.
My personal favorite story is the one where a great white took a man off a dory in 1830.
Joseph Blaney rowed a small dory off the main ship and began fishing.
And this his fellow fishermen saw a big fish jump onto the dory.
He fell into the water, and all that was recovered was his hat.
Blaney’s family later went fishing for sharks at that same location in hopes of catching the man-eater.
They caught two great whites, one of which was too big to haul into shore.
Great whites still rarely attack people.
So I don’t think they should call in this guy just yet:
Was vacationing in Cape Cod just last month; specifically in Wellfleet and visited Ptown’s Herring Cove Beach as well. Both of those are just one town over from Truro!
It’s an exciting place! Now more than ever! ;)
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