Three More Great White Sharks Tagged Off Chatham

September 8, 2009

Release from: Michaela Stanelun
Boston Globe

Three great white sharks, including one estimated to be 15 feet long, were tagged this morning near Chatham off the coast of Monomoy Island, officials said, bringing to five the number of great whites spotted in the area since late last week.

The first shark located was estimated to be 10 feet to 12 feet long, said Lisa Capone, of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Shortly after that shark was discovered, two more were tagged. One was nine feet long and the other was 15 feet long, said Kate Plourd, spokeswoman for the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Chatham beaches were closed to swimmers over the weekend after great whites were spotted in the area late last week. Two were tagged over the weekend.

Chatham's Parks and Recreation director, Dan Tobin, said town officials would meet this afternoon to discuss the beach closures and a possible reopening date.

“If things have not changed with the sharks' presence in the immediate area, we would probably keep things closed for the foreseeable future,” Tobin said.

Tobin added that people who have come to the beach are aware of the shark threat and are not going in the water.

“Folks have been pretty understanding of the situation,” Tobin said.

A giant, implacable great white shark was featured as the villain in the 1975 hit movie "Jaws," as it terrorized the waters off a New England town. The movie made an indelible mark on popular culture and exacerbated many people's fear of sharks. The last shark-related death in New England was in 1936.