‘Incredible and rare’: Hammerhead shark spotted in water off Massachusetts

A hammerhead shark was recently spotted in the water off Massachusetts in an “incredible and rare” occurrence, officials said.

The smooth hammerhead sighting happened off Monomoy Island in Chatham on July 20, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

Wow! What an incredible (and rare) smooth hammerhead sighting,” the Conservancy wrote in a Facebook post. “We may be a white shark organization but we will always appreciate a special shark sighting.”

Wow! What an incredible (and rare) smooth hammerhead sighting off Monomoy Island on Saturday, July 20th! Thank you, L....

Posted by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Thursday, July 25, 2024

Hammerhead sharks prefer tropical waters but they tend to travel long distances, according to NOAA. They are typically spotted between New Jersey down to Florida, as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

There have been a slew of great white shark sightings this summer off Cape Cod and the Islands. Great whites have also been seen as far north as Maine near the Isle of Shoals and Richmond Island.

Recent Mass. shark sightings: Map shows great whites off South Shore, North Shore

In addition to great white sightings, predations involving dead seals and sharks feeding on a whale carcass have also been reported by Sharktivity users in recent weeks.

The Conservancy shared an interactive map with Boston 25, showing reported shark sightings in real-time and sightings with photos, as well as confirmed acoustic detections of tagged sharks.

The map’s menu tools allow users to filter shark sightings as recent as 48 hours, over the last 30 days, or between a custom date range.

The icons on the map indicate the following:

• Red alert icon: A white shark sighting is confirmed close to a public beach
  
• Blue shark fin icon: A confirmed white shark sighting
  
• Orange shark fin icon: An unconfirmed white shark sighting
  
• Yellow icon: A receiver that detects white sharks tagged with acoustic tags and transmits the data in real-time
  
• Purple icon: A real-time detection of a shark tagged with an acoustic tag that is less than an hour old
  
• Orange icon: Detections of sharks tagged with acoustic transmitters
  
• Green icon: The shark’s dorsal fin breaks the surface and the tag transmits to overhead satellites
  

The Sharktivity app , which is available to download on iPhone and Android, tracks sightings fed by researchers, safety officials, and users who upload photos for confirmation.

John Chisholm, adjunct scientist at New England Aquarium, recently told Boston 25 they are expecting more sharks this year as the seal population continues to grow.

“No matter where you’re going into the water, whether that’s Cape Cod or Gloucester or Plymouth, you need to be shark smart,” Chisholm cautioned beachgoers.

While the last shark attack in Massachusetts was in 2020, the growing numbers of seals and sharks should make beachgoers more alert, Chisholm advised.

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