Story at a glance
- Beach officials shut down beaches along Nantucket, an island off the coast of Massachusetts, earlier this week.
- Multiple shark sightings were reported and confirmed in the area.
- Sharks are not naturally drawn to humans.
After multiple shark sightings in the region, beach safety officials shut down the entire south shore of Nantucket on Wednesday.
Confirmed shark at cisco beach!! Unconfirmed fin sightings at madaket and Ladies beach. South shore beaches CLOSED to swimming and fishing! #staysafe #beaware pic.twitter.com/Er3iE6HZyE
— ACK Harbormaster (@ackharbormaster) August 18, 2021
An initial shark sighting was documented on Tuesday, Aug. 17, at Little Neck Madaket Harbor on the western end of the island off the shore of Massachusetts.
Fin sighting Little Neck Madaket Harbor. Shark chasing fish racks. Do not filet your fish at sea. Dispose of fish racks on land. #sharkattracters #yikes #toocloseforcomfort pic.twitter.com/fa6tPx45nK
— ACK Harbormaster (@ackharbormaster) August 17, 2021
Beaches reopened on Wednesday, but reports of shark fin sightings began to pour in. The closures affected Surfside Beach, Cisco Beach, Medaket Beach, Nobadeer Beach, and Miacomet Beach.
The harbormaster and lifeguards said on the town’s official Twitter account that they were investigating the sightings.
As of Thursday, all beaches were open for swimming.
Food and climate are the two main reasons sharks may gather in one particular location, and experts say these sightings are a positive sign of a healthy ocean ecosystem, as a healthy environment can support ample populations of predators.
Marine Levine, the founder of the Shark Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, told The Hill that sharks simply follow their food sources — which exclude humans.
“Humans are not on any shark’s menu,” she said. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) added that humans generally experience shark encounters when the sea animals are curious or confused.
Levine also attributed the increase in sightings to a higher volume of beachgoers in the water, a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, which has driven people outdoors for safer gatherings.
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