The shark was first spotted by a roaming state police helicopter around the ocean side of the beach in Duxbury at approximately 2 p.m. local time. Soon after, the swimmers were advised to get out of the water and stay out of it until further notice.
The state police continued to monitor the great white shark from the helicopter. According to Duxbury Fire Chief Kevin Nord, there were two local harbormaster boats that surrounded the shark as a way to drive it away from the area.
"This is the first time that we have had a shark sighting in these waters," says Victoria Moore who is a lifeguard at the beach. She added that the animal was around 600 yards from the shore. "It was coming in close." She was then prompted by the harbor master to order everyone to come out of the water.
At 2:40 p.m., the state police helicopter was following the shark as it swam south toward the deeper part of the sea. By 3:15 p.m., the helicopter decided to leave the area after noting that the shark is already out of sight. By 4 p.m., the people were allowed to go swimming again but were warned to swim at their own risk.
The shark sighting on Monday, while it has created some stir, is something that happens regularly around the Cape Cod area. A week earlier, there were at least four great white sharks that were spotted off the coast of Chatham which is on the other side of Cape Cod Bay.
On Friday, August 22, another great white was spotted and was consequently photographed under the surface of the ocean using a GoPro camera. The sighting was again off the shore of Chatham.
According to Amy Mahler, a spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Game, there were over a dozen shark sightings found off the coast of Massachusetts in this summer alone. She added that spotting the great white shark at Duxbury is quite an unusual occurrence. Usually, great white sharks are seen on the other side of Cape Cod Bay.
Mahler explained that the increase in shark sightings for the past couple of years can be attributed to an increased population of the gray seal which is the favorite food of sharks. "With the increase in protection over marine mammals in the past 40 years, the gray seal population has rebounded," says Mahler. "As a result, there is strong evidence to suggest that great white sharks have increased their predatation on these animals."
