Local News

Multiple shark sightings reported in Chatham on Tuesday

The sharks were detected between 57.3 and 76.7 miles from the coast.

The Sharktivity app shows multiple sightings from July 27. Sharktivity app

July 27, 2021

1 minute to read

There were at least three great white shark sightings off the coast of Chatham on Monday, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.

On Twitter, Sharktivity confirmed the three individual sightings. The Sharktivity app – which allows other app users to report nearby sharks – showed eight total sightings. The sharks were detected between 57.3 and 76.7 miles from the coast.

It is unclear whether the sightings were individual sharks or the same shark. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

The app’s buoy tracking system “detects white sharks tagged with acoustic tags and transmits the data in real-time” A shark detection was reported at 5:09 p.m. and identified the shark as “Toothy,” a shark the same buoy has detected five times before. This detector had previously reported five other sightings – each of a different shark – between 3:55 a.m. and 3:06 p.m.

At 9:16 p.m., the shark “Commodore,” who has gone past the buoy 20 times, was spotted again. Other named sharks, such as Gannon, Luke, and Scarface were identified at the buoy throughout the day.

The app also reported that another shark, “Danny,” triggered a buoy detector near Provincetown and Wellfleet early Tuesday morning around 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.

Scientists tagged a white shark for the first time this season near Chatham earlier this month.