First Confirmed White Shark Of The Season In Massachusetts Spotted Off Madaket

Island resident Wesley Enriquez was out at Smith’s Point in Madaket for a beach barbecue on Sunday when he and his friends noticed the water turn red.

The cause quickly became apparent: a seal had been mortally wounded, and a shark was following close behind it before the seal managed to get out of the surf and onto the beach.

“As the seal briefly beached, we saw the huge bite marks and loads of blood,” Enriquez told the Current. “As he beached, we saw the shark swim to the right of where we filmed. His dorsal fin and caudal fin were sticking out of the water, and we could see his silhouette lengthwise through the waves.”

After examining Enriquez’s footage and photos of the incident, scientist and shark expert John Chisholm, of the New England Aquarium, determined the seal was killed by a white shark, the first to be confirmed in Massachusetts waters this spring.

On Tuesday, the aquarium announced the incident in a press release in which it urged members of the public to be aware of their surroundings and report shark sightings via the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's “Sharktivity App,” which is used to track sightings and shark movements.

“This is the time of year when we like to remind people to be ‘shark smart’ as white sharks return to the inshore waters of New England, where they’ll hunt seals and other prey through the summer and into the fall,” Chisholm said.

“Shark smart,” according to Chisholm, means being aware of sharks’ presence in shallow waters, avoiding areas where seals are present or schools of fish are visible, and staying close to shore where emergency responders can reach you if needed.

For Enriquez, the incident was unforgettable, and he said some of his friends had been swimming in the area just moments before the shark attack.

"The whole experience was surreal," he said. "The seal was bleeding out while being thrown back and forth with the tide. The seal died about five to six minutes after we saw the pool of blood in the water. Later, it was washed ashore once more about 20 minutes after."

The Sharktivity app provides information and push notifications on white shark sightings, detections, and movements to raise awareness and help people and sharks co-exist, according to the Aquarium.

Chisholm serves as Citizen Science Coordinator for the Aquarium, verifying shark sighting reports made by the public and identifying legitimate sightings to be posted on Sharktivity.

“Increased shark sightings can be a positive sign of a recovering marine ecosystem, but this recovery also means that people should take even more care while swimming or surfing,” said Dr. Nick Whitney, senior scientist and chair of the Anderson Cabot Center’s Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies program. “Our work in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center focuses on balancing ocean use with preservation, meaning we recognize the importance of the ocean for human use while trying to reduce the impact of humans on sharks, and vice versa.”