Scarborough – Rick Clough spent about four decades fishing lobsters and sea urchins on the Costa de Maine before sighting one of the most recognized predators in the ocean: a large white shark.
The shark of approximately 2.4 meters (8 feet), seen in front of the coastal city of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but did not fear the ocean, although he admitted: “I’m not sure I would like to dive to look for hedgehogs now.”
Navigators, bathers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the cold waters of New England and the Canadian Atlantic are learning to live with the great white sharks, the creatures that became famous for the 1975 film “Jaws”. The sightings of these apex predators are increasingly frequent in places like Maine, where they were very rare.
Scientists link white shark sightings to increase the availability of seals that sharks feed, and say that bathers are usually very sure of shark bites. Sharks can grow about 6 meters (20 feet) long, although most do not reach that size.
David Lancaster, a commercial collection of clams in Scarborough, used a drone to observe a shark of approximately 3.6 meters (12 feet) near the famous beaches of the city earlier this month. He described the animal as “magnificent” and “really amazing” to see. But he also said that the presence of the shark reminded him that swimmers must be careful with large fish.
Why are the big white sharks to the north?
The sightings of large targets in front of CAPE COD, Massachusetts, have become increasingly frequent in recent years, and Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has documented hundreds of animals for more than a decade. But new data show that sharks are directed even further north, towards New Hampshire, Maine and beyond, said Greg Skomal, a senior fishing biologist of the Massachusetts Marine Fishing Department and veteran white shark researcher.
The number of white sharks detected against Halifax, New Scotland, increased approximately 2.5 times from 2018 to 2022, according to an article published by Skomal and others in May in the Marine Ecology Progress Series magazine. Even further north, the number detected in the Cabot Strait that separates new Scotland and Newfounder increased almost four times, according to the article.
Skomal said that the average residence in these northern waters has also increased from 48 days to 70 days, which suggests that white sharks seem to be increasingly comfortable to the north.
A key reason for change seems to be the successful conservation of seals in front of New England and Canada through laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Law, which has allowed seals to prosper and provide a source of food for predatory sharks, Skomal said.
“It could be a function of a growing dam base,” Skomal said. “And that would be the seals.”
Sharks are also protected
The great white sharks also benefit from the protections, including the prohibition of fishing in federal waters of the United States that has been maintained since 1997. They are still considered vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
In Massachusetts, the Marine Fishing Department said it strengthened its fishing laws after fishermen in 2024 chose to attack white sharks anyway. The State prohibited the use of certain types of heavy fishing arts in coastal areas where white sharks are found more frequently.
“We believe here in Massachusetts that attacking white sharks from the beach is not a safe practice,” Skomal said. “Not only because it could result in the death of the shark, but also because it could be a public security problem.”
Despite the size and strength of sharks, dangerous encounters between white and humans are extremely rare. Throughout the world, there have been less than 60 fatal bite of white shark in humans in registered history, according to the International Archive of Shark Attacks in the Florida Natural History Museum.
Living with big targets
The first fatal shark attack in Maine occurred in 2020 when a large white shark killed Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, in front of Bailey Island.
“It is an extremely rare event. But we are providing all this information to mitigate human behavior and, hopefully, reduce any negative encounter between humans and sharks,” said Ashleigh Novak, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy research coordinator.
The growth of social networks has caused shark sightings to become viral in the last summers. An application for smartphones called Sharkivity also allows shark observers to inform their sightings.
Lancaster, a surfer, said that living with great targets is something that people in New England will have to adapt.
“It’s crazy that they are close, such as fishermen and surfers, and it is something we have to accept,” said Lancaster. “It is at the bottom of your mind, but you have to accept it.”