Cape Cod Great White Shark Numbers on the Rise: Report

BARNSTABLE, MA — The great white shark population off Cape Cod has increased in recent years and this summer's wave of sightings is a prime example.

On Monday, a great white shark was captured on video eating a seal off Monomoy Island near Chatham. And on Fri., Aug. 5, Truro beaches were closed as six great whites fed on a dead minke whale nearby. In July, boaters credited an app for alerting them to a great white swimming alongside their boat — and a 6-year-old boy actually hooked a great white in Cape Cod Bay (The shark was cut free.).

The Cape's healthy seal population is attracting great whites, which in the 1980s saw a nearly 80 percent decrease in their numbers but now are flourishing, the Guardian reported. Great whites primarily feed on seals — along with dead whales.

"You can see (great white sharks) are rebounding," University of New England professor James Sulikowski told the Guardian. "We’ve made great strides to protect those species."

Truro is the site of the last great white attack on a human in Cape Cod. On July 30, 2012, a great white bit a man on the leg. He survived.

The last close encounter in the region was September 2014, when a great white chomped a kayak with two women aboard off the coast of Plymouth. They were not hurt. The sharks might have mistook the kayak for a seal, which they prey on.

In 1916, a shark killed four people and seriously injured a fifth off the New Jersey coast — providing the inspiration for “Jaws,” which was filmed on Martha's Vineyard.

Great White Sharks on Cape Cod 2016

• 'Awesome' Great White Shark Video on Cape Cod Also Terrifying
• 9 Recent Great White Shark Sightings on Cape Cod
• Great White Shark Eats Seal Near Chatham Beach
• 6 Great White Sharks Force Cape Cod Beach Closures
• App Alerts Boaters to Great White Shark on Cape Cod
• Great White Shark Returns to Cape Cod After Dramatic Rescue
• Boy Catches Great White Shark in Cape Cod Bay
• 3 Great Whites Spotted on Eastern Edge of Cape Cod

Top photo credit: Center for Coastal Studies