beaches

It’s shark season on Cape Cod, and even the Massachusetts State Police are getting in on the action. A police helicopter went out on shark patrol this week, bringing along New England Aquarium scientist John Chisholm, and they spotted a shark about 50 yards from Provincetown’s Race Point Beach, officials said. The animal was near a group of seals...

A Massachusetts State Police helicopter flew over Race Point Beach on Cape Cod Wednesday to look for sharks and found this one near a group of wary seals.

Summer is also shark season on Cape Cod, and people are now aware of the dangers thanks to more than a decade of research. Typically, sharks return to the waters off Cape Cod and the Islands in mid-June. This year the sightings started early, with the first confirmed sighting on Sunday, May 29.  It has become common for beaches to…

People are returning to the beaches of Cape Cod, and so are the sharks. Years of research help us understand their behavior.

With the official start of summer just weeks away, people are eager to hit the beach, but not many beaches in Massachusetts are easily accessible to the public. From local rules about parking to a state law that keeps some beaches private, there are a number of barriers to putting your toes in the sand.  “I think the biggest part…

Longstanding state law give beachfront property owners the ability to claim property up to the low tide line as private, but there’s a push to change those access rules.

With warm weather returning, plenty of families in New England are planning out their beach trips for the summer ahead of time. There are plenty of things to factor in when planning where to go such as restaurants or nearby attractions for kids. But one standard that goes unsaid is the cleanliness of the water. In Save the Harbor’s...

There will be extra police out at Revere Beach in Massachusetts this weekend as law enforcement prepares for large crowds ahead of potentially record-breaking heat. Massachusetts State Police, Revere Police at the Department of Conversation and Recreation will all be involved in the effort. The notice from Massachusetts State Police comes after fights broke out in large crowds at the…

A lifelong Nantucket resident is calling for gender equality in a push to allow nudity on all of the island’s beaches. Dorothy Stover, daughter of late Nantucket Town Clerk Catherine Stover, has started a petition to rewrite the town bylaws. The petition suggests that the bylaws be amended by adding, “in order to promote for all persons, any person...

A lifelong Nantucket resident is pushing for equality for all genders with a petition to make all of the island’s beaches topless.

A new shark flag warning system in Maine is getting its first few uses, roughly a year after the state’s first fatal shark attack. The flags have been used twice in the past several weeks, according to Jim Britt, the communications director for Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands: First at Popham Beach in Phippsburg and, most recently, on...

A ping on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app prompted lifeguards at Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach to put up new warning flags the state is using after its first shark attack last year.

After Maine’s first shark attack nearly a year ago, the state is adding new buoys to help track sharks.

Though two environmental non-profits have released differing reports on water quality at Boston-area beaches in recent weeks, both agree that sewage discharges continue to be significant contributors to unsafe swimming conditions. Environment Massachusetts on Monday released its annual report highlighting local beaches where water samples tested for concentrations of fecal bacteria greater than the Environmental Protection Agency’s highest warning level. That...

Boston and other parts of New England will be treated to a view of the first solar eclipse of the year early on Thursday, and it is going to be a good one.  Thursday morning’s “Ring of Fire” eclipse will be visible for almost an hour (though the ring of fire won’t be visible south of Canada). The eclipse...

Monday: Hazy, hot, humid, sunny. Highs around 95, heat index 95-100. Monday night: Warm, humid. Lows around 70. Tuesday: Another day of heat, scattered showers/thunder. Highs in the 90s.

The town of Hull, Massachusetts, is spotting more giant jellyfish while expecting a swell of beachgoers this weekend.

Recent sightings of the lion’s mane jellyfish in the waters around Hull, Massachusetts, are prompting warnings from officials. One of the world’s largest jellyfish species, the lion’s mane has an orange-brown bell, can grow up to six feet wide and have tentacles that can exceed lengths of 100 feet, according to Hull Deputy Fire Chief William Frazier III. The sting...

Lion’s Mane jellyfish have been spotted in the waters around Hull, Massachusetts, prompting warnings from officials.

Maine state coastal parks will adopt a flag system used in Massachusetts to warn beachgoers of the presence of sharks. The move comes after the state’s first documented fatal shark attack in the state last summer. A woman was killed on July 27, 2020, by a great white while swimming about 20 yards offshore in Harpswell. “It’s nothing new, but...