Local News
A dead gray seal found on Martha’s Vineyard with suspected shark bite wounds led officials to confirm the season’s first white shark report in Massachusetts waters.
Surfers and swimmers at Marconi Beach in Wellfleet. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
The New England Aquarium has confirmed the first white shark of the season was reported off the Massachusetts coast.
On May 10, a dead gray seal was discovered on Lucy Vincent Beach in Chilmark, Martha’s Vineyard with a visible wound. Andrew Jacobs of the Natural Resource Department of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) investigated the animal the next day and reported the suspected shark bite to the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries.
A gray seal seen with a fatal white shark bite on Martha’s Vineyard on May 11, 2026. – Andrew Jacobs
John Chisholm, an Adjunct scientist at the Aquarium, inspected photos of the seal and confirmed the wound was consistent with that of a white shark — one of over 15 shark species that populate New England waters depending on the time of year.
“This is just the beginning of white shark season in New England, and it serves as a good reminder to be mindful of the presence of these sharks in inshore waters,” Chisholm said, in a news release. “Their numbers will continue to increase throughout the summer with peak activity occurring in the fall,” he added.
Chisholm urged beachgoers to avoid areas where there are seals or schools of fish, and stay close to shore where emergency responders are stationed.
The aquarium encouraged the public to report shark sightings and stay up to date on shark activity through the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app. Not only are sightings useful to alert the public to the presence of sharks, but they also serve a scientific purpose for marine researchers.
“These sightings contribute to our scientific understanding about sharks in our local waters, helping us to understand the health of their populations and the marine environment that supports them,” Dr. John Durban, a senior scientist in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, said in the release.
Have you had a shark encounter?
Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.
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