RYE — A deceased harbor seal that washed ashore on Wallis Sands Beach last weekend died after a great white shark bite, the first local incident of such predation in 2024, according to Seacoast Science Center Marine Mammal Rescue.
New Hampshire State Beach Patrol was notified by beachgoers on Sunday, June 23, that a dead harbor seal was washing in with the tide, leading to a report made to Marine Mammal Rescue. The sub-adult male, after sustaining a big wound on the left side of its body, was located by Marine Mammal Rescue personnel and brought to the team’s facility. Testing by the team and outside sources confirmed the seal was bitten by a great white shark.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports harbor seals are one of the most common marine species along the east and west coasts of the United States. Harbor seals can weigh upwards of 285 pounds and span up to 6 feet in length.
The death of the harbor seal comes amid the town of Rye’s efforts to monitor tagged great white shark activity off town shores. Referencing tagged great white shark detection buoys deployed off four Rye beaches, town fire department Chief Mark Cotreau told the Select Board this month that six different tagged great white sharks swam within 1,500 feet of the buoys in 2023.
Marine Mammal Rescue community outreach manager Brian Yurasits notes local shark-on-seal predation incidents are limited. Since 2014, the team has responded to an average of two to four incidents of shark predation on seals per year, according to Yurasits. Marine Mammal Rescue’s response radius stretches from the Seacoast and southern Maine to Essex, Massachusetts.
“It is crucial to note that seal predations cannot provide real-time information on white shark activity within the Gulf of Maine, as it is impossible to determine where and when this predator-prey interaction occurred,” he said. “For example, it is entirely possible that this interaction happened miles offshore.”
Marine Mammal Rescue confirmed the shark bite with the New England Aquarium. After examination, Marine Mammal Rescue members planned to send disease surveillance samples to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and a genetic sample to the nonprofit Ocean Genome Legacy Center.
The seal’s death was reported by Marine Mammal Rescue on Tuesday, two days after the seal was located and determined to have died following a shark bite.
“It is also crucial that we work to confirm any shark predations with our partners at Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and New England Aquarium before sharing this information with the public, as there are different shark species that may predate on seals, and bite wounds can look similar to vessel strikes, or other injuries that a seal might sustain,” Yurasits explained.
Keeping track of sharks in the Gulf of Maine
The shark buoys in Rye were placed off the shores of Sawyer Beach, Cable Beach, Foss Beach, and Wallis Sands. The buoys do not transmit real-time shark data to local lifeguards or area public safety personnel, and they do not collect information on any untagged sharks that may pass through local waters. The buoys are pulled from the ocean in the fall, and the collected information is analyzed by University of New Hampshire researchers and the Atlantic Shark Conservancy.
From early summer into the fall, great white sharks traverse the Gulf of Maine. In that period, the species can be found anywhere from ocean waters off New Jersey to Nova Scotia, Yurasits said.
Great white sharks are the largest known predatory fish in the world. The species can weigh upwards of 4,000 to 7,000 pounds and can grow up to 20 feet long, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
“Our goal is not to create alarm within the communities that we work, but to advance our science and understanding of these predator-prey relationships,” Yurasits added. “It is exceedingly rare for interactions between sharks and humans to occur in New Hampshire waters, and beachgoers face far greater risks to their well-being from rip currents, a stray surfboard, or during their drive to the beach.”
New England Aquarium shark researcher and adjunct scientist John Chisholm has made a career studying shark movement in Atlantic waters. He said a similar incident involving a deceased seal who washed up after suffering a shark bite recently took place at a beach in Wells, Maine.
Should beachgoers be concerned about sharks?
Amid an increase in shark tagging and detection efforts, Chisholm is reminding beachgoers and those fearing shark activity that the species has always been present in the region.
“Even though it’s alarming that people see these sharks are getting detected off the beach, they’ve been there. The tags are only giving us a glimpse into how they move and where those (movements) occur,” he said.
Chisholm acknowledged the growing shark population in Cape Cod due to the large presence of seals in the region.
“We know there’s an increase in activity just because the population is growing. What the tags are doing, they’re showing what the habits of the sharks are,” he said. “The sharks are tagged off Cape Cod, South Carolina and now even up in Canada. These sharks have been doing this for decades. It’s just now that we have these tags in place.”
Shark movements can be verified by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and New England Aquarium and registered onto the Sharktivity phone application, which alerts users before they head to the ocean.
“It's just a reminder that the sharks are there and that when you go into the water you need to be shark smart,” Chisholm said. “If you see seals, don’t swim with the bait, as I like to say. If you see a school of fish, it’s best to stay away. Don’t swim alone, don’t isolate yourself, don’t make a commotion in the water, because sharks will notice that, and know your surroundings.”
The shark buoys in Rye were purchased by the town to study great white shark activity in response to the July 2020 death of a New York City woman after a rare shark attack while she was swimming off Bailey Island, the first fatal shark attack in Maine history.
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