‘Huge' Shark Captured on Video, Prompting Beach Closings

Beaches were closed to swimming in Plymouth and Wellfleet due to great white shark sightings on Monday.

Patrick Vardaro and Nick Kraszyk were fishing off the coast of Plymouth and spotted something in the water late in the morning.

"I happened to catch a glimpse of a fin," said Kraszyk. "I said, 'Hey, let's go check that out.' As we got a little bit closer, to our surprise, about a 12-13 foot white shark."

They started recording it on video.

"He came right over to the boat," said Kraszyk. "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."

They sent the video to the Plymouth Harbormaster, who tweeted around 2:30 p.m. that all town beaches were closed after a confirmed white shark sighting off Manomet Point. People were asked to keep a sharp lookout and report all sightings.

Earlier in the day, around 1:30 p.m., Marconi Beach in Wellfleet was closed to swimming for an hour after a shark sighting was reported by the Cape Cod National Seashore.

The sighting by Vardaro and Kraszyk was the first off the coast of Plymouth this season, but many others have been seen around Cape Cod. According to the Sharktivity app, at least eight great white sharks have been spotted off the Cape since Sunday.

Two were spotted off Monomoy Island, one off Chatham and two off Eastham on Monday. 

On Sunday, one shark was seen eating a seal off Eastham and another was spotted off Orleans.

It's been a busy few days for shark sightings. Another one was spotted late last week near a group of surfers and another right near a paddle boarder.

The 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. "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 three hours until the yellow flags went up, which means 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."

The two fisherman who saw the great white are grateful for the experience and that they were able to get the message out.

"It was pretty thrilling," said Vardaro. "It was a huge, huge shark, and I'd never seen one. I've wanted to see one for a long time."

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