Massachusetts

Shark Season: Cape Cod Beach Closed Due to Great White Sighting at Truro's Head of the Meadow Beach

Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro was closed to swimming for an hour on Tuesday

What to Know

  • Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro was closed for an hour after a sighting around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
  • On Monday, beaches in Wellfleet and Plymouth were temporarily closed due to sightings there.
  • Peak season is beginning for great whites off the coast of Massachusetts. Researchers say they'll likely continue to be seen until October.

For the second straight day, a Cape Cod beach was temporarily closed to swimming due to a shark sighting.

Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro was closed for an hour after a sighting around 11:30 a.m. A second sighting was reported in the same area around 12:50 p.m., closing the beach for another hour.

Marconi Beach was closed to swimming for an hour on Monday due to a shark sighting, and all beaches in Plymouth were temporarily closed after two fishermen spotted a 12 to 13 foot great white off Manomet Point.

“He came right over to the boat,” said Nick Kraszyk, one of the fishermen. “He was a little bit curious, and when he realized that we weren’t anything special, he just turned and headed off, couldn’t find him anymore.”

All of the recent shark sightings have made some beachgoers nervous.

“I was in the water actually and the lifeguard came up and was like, ‘You need to get out of the water,” said Meghan Wrightington, who was at a beach in Plymouth on Monday. “And she was saying that there was a shark sighting at Manomet and that we needed to get out immediately.”

The ban on swimming in Plymouth lasted for three hours until yellow flags went up, meaning swim with caution.

“I think I’m not going in the water,” said Kim Morin. “It’s a little scary. I don’t like the water too much to begin with, but if it has anything to do with sharks, no, not me.”

Peak season is beginning for great white sharks off the coast of Massachusetts. Researchers say they'll likely continue to be seen until October.

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