When Will Sharks Appear in Nearby Waters?

After two teenagers lost arms in horrific shark attacks in North Carolina this weekend, expect shark sightings on Cape Cod and along the rest of the Eastern Seaboard in the coming days, experts say.

On Sunday, a shark bit the arm off a 13-year-old girl at Oak Island beach in North Carolina. About an hour later, the same shark bit the arm off a 16-year-old boy about 2 miles away. The teenagers were expected to survive.

Great white shark sightings have “surged” on the East Coast in the last few years, with most occurring in Massachusetts, New Jersey, the Carolinas, or Florida, according to federal researchers. There were about 70 shark attacks worldwide last year—three of them fatal.

In 1916, a shark killed four people and seriously injured a fifth off the Jersey Shore coast—providing the inspiration for “Jaws.”

Great white sharks have a well-documented summertime presence in Cape Cod waters—especially last year.

In September on the Plymouth coast, a great white shark chomped a kayak with two women inside. They were not hurt.

A few weeks earlier, a Duxbury beach was evacuated after a State Police helicopter captured a photo of this great white:

Credit: Duxbury Fire Department

Cape Cod researchers last year launched a submarine robot to track a great white—the shark proceeded to stalk the robot and attacked it several times, “Jaws”-style:

Photo credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

The last great white attack on a human in Massachusetts was In 2012, when a great white bit a man on the leg off the coast of Truro. The man survived and kept his leg.

There are about a dozen types of sharks that migrate to New England waters starting in May and June, according to state officials. Great whites capture the most interest—drawing tourists and launching expedition outfits.

State officials this month announced new permitting requirements for companies involved in activities that attract great whites. That includes cage diving.

“It is likely that the seasonal presence of these white sharks will continue and, as a result, so will the public interest in interacting with these sharks,” the Division of Marine Fisheries said in a statement. “This is problematic because it puts both the sharks and public safety at risk. Accordingly, Marine Fisheries has implemented this new permitting requirement.”

Top photo credit: mass.gov