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Blue sharks scavenge dead basking shark off Cape Cod, beaches shut down to swimming after great white sightings
Those on a local whale watch were treated to an epic feast on Wednesday when they had a front-row seat to several sharks scavenging a dead shark.
A shiver of blue sharks was spotted chomping on a dead basking shark floating off Cape Cod.
“WOAH! You NEVER know what you are going to see on a whale watch and today was the perfect example,” posted Captain John Boats.
“Our crew came across a dead basking shark that was being scavenged by 5-6 blue sharks!” Captain John Boats added. “It was an incredible sight.”
While much of the focus is on great white sharks along the Cape, blue sharks are the most abundant large shark in New England this time of year, according to shark biologist John Chisholm.
Researchers in the past have seen blue sharks feasting on a dead basking shark.
“They’re taking advantage of a big food source there,” Chisholm said. “The oily slick coming off the carcass leads them to it.”
The dead basking shark had been reported to researchers earlier this week, and scientists wanted to do a necropsy to figure out its cause of death.
It has been a big year for basking sharks, with researchers estimating hundreds around the region. Nine have been found dead. Basking sharks can die from boat collisions, getting tangled in lobster gear, and disease.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, shark alerts were popping off on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app — as many white sharks were spotted close to Cape beaches.
The shark alerts — which are sent when a white shark sighting is confirmed close to a public beach — were at Nauset ORV South, Marconi Beach, Race Point Beach, Maguire Landing, and Coast Guard Beach.
Researchers on Wednesday were out on the water trying to tag sharks, and a pilot was up above looking for sharks.
“When they’re out, it gets real busy,” Chisholm said of the research team. “It makes a big difference.”
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Last week, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy research team tagged “WS Champ” off the Cape — which was first documented and identified in Canada in collaboration with Atlantic Shark Expeditions.
“Last week was the first time Champ has been encountered by the AWSC research team off of Cape Cod!” the Conservancy posted.
“In similar news, the team also encountered WS Pearl last week, another shark documented by ASE last year,” AWSC added. “Through collaborations such as these, we’re constantly learning more about the western north Atlantic population of white sharks!”