It is officially shark sighting season on these Massachusetts Beaches! The weather and water are getting warmer and people are starting to run toward the beach. This allows for more shark sightings and God forbid, more shark attacks.
In fact, a whale-watching cruise out of Provincetown officially captured the first shark sighting of the season 30 miles from Boston Harbor on Sunday. With this first shark sighting, experts are now warning people this is the time to start looking out for sharks when you’re visiting beaches.
There are ways you can actually track shark sightings. One being a company called The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. There’s also an app called “Sharktivity” where people can report actual shark sightings. You can see how many sightings there have been in the past month, past week and past year. Before we warn you of the beaches where you’re more likely to get attacked by a shark, let’s look at how you can avoid it all together.
Stay close to shore. Play in the water in larger groups. Limit your splashing. Don’t swim near schools of fish or seals. As long as you adhere to these “rules” of the water, your chances of being attacked by a shark go way down.
Shark sightings typically occur from mid-May into October when sharks visit the shorelines looking for food, aka seals. Chances of getting killed by a shark are very low although there have been two people killed since 2018. There have been more shark bites however which can lead to hospitalizations.
So which beaches in Massachusetts are more prone to shark attacks? We’ve taken a look at analysis over the past 5 years and put together this list of the most shark infested beaches in the state. If you dare take a trip to any of these this summer, take extra precautions. Enjoy!