A Great White Shark Was Spotted off the Coast of Connecticut
It's the first time a great white shark has been tracked in the Long Island Sound.
Photo via Getty Images
Just when you thought it was safe to go swimming in the ocean again, there has been an unusual ping off the coast of Connecticut.
Researchers spotted a great white shark in the Long Island Sound Monday, the first time one of these big guys has been tracked in those waters.
Great whites are rare, but not unheard of off the coast of the Cape, north of this sighting. In the fall of 2018, there were two separate attacks in Truro and Wellfleet. The second took the life of a surfer, the area’s first fatal shark attack since 1936. After years of Jaws jokes and faked sightings, beachgoers may now actually have a reason to be scared of what lurks beneath the surface.
I heard sending a ping from the Long Island Sound had never been done before by a white shark…so naturally I had to visit and send one off.
Hello Greenwich how are you today?! pic.twitter.com/ijO9NpdiNr
— Great White Shark Cabot (@GWSharkCabot) May 20, 2019
This latest Connecticut sighting was picked up by researchers with OCEARCH off the shore of Greenwich. The big guy in question was first tagged in Nova Scotia and named after the explorer John Cabot. The shark is now living up to his name, exploring parts of the Atlantic seaboard where his kind doesn’t usually venture.
Cabot was spotted as far south as Florida earlier this year. He was recently detected off the coast of Delaware, heading north to pay a visit to New Englanders as summer rolls in.
GREAT WHITE SIGHTING: A sub-adult great white shark measuring nearly 10 feet long, and weighing nearly 500lbs has been tracked in Long Island Sound off the Connecticut shore for the first time ever, marine researchers say: https://t.co/53AaiEBZUu@GioBenitez reports pic.twitter.com/YDw2OtS6KS
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 21, 2019
Chris Fisher, the aptly named chairman and research leader at OCEARCH, told USA Today that this is the closest to shore they’ve seen a Great White in the Sound. But at a pace of 100-150 miles per day, Cabot should be moving along northward in no time. That is, of course, after he catches enough fish to last him the journey.
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to give a big thank you to all of you amazing humans. Today has been a spectacular day for me and @OCEARCH and I couldn’t be more grateful for the support many of you have shown! pic.twitter.com/0C262FRsCI
— Great White Shark Cabot (@GWSharkCabot) May 20, 2019
If he does wander into the Cape’s waters, you’ll know him when you see him. At nine feet, eight inches long and a slim 533 pounds, he’s not easy to miss.
Note: This story has been updated to indicate that this is the first great white tracked in Long Island Sound, not spotted there.
