Great White Shark Seen in Vineyard Waters

June 6, 2008

Shark

Mark Alan Lovewell has an interesting article in the current issue of the Vineyard Gazette (Friday, June 2, 2008) reporting that two charter fishing captains have reported seeing a great white shark in Vineyard waters during the past week.

Last Wednesday evening a great white shark was seen approximately 50 feet off the Menemsha beach. And last Sunday afternoon at about 4:30 p.m., a great white shark was seen by a charter captain in the waters off of Gay Head. The great white shark breached (came out of the water) three times near the captain’s boat.

Estimates of the size of the shark were in the 15 to 19 foot range with a weight of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. The shark also was described as having a wide girth. This is a good size great white shark.

The growing seal population in the waters off the Vineyard may be the reason for the sightings of great whites in the area. A large shark was also observed close to shore last August off the Katama region of the Vineyard.

Mr. Lovewell’s article is well written, informative, and well worth reading. He provides a lot of interesting facts and details. It is not your typical stay out of the water “shark” article, but it does make you realize that there are sharks in the waters off our coastline and that you must use common sense, especially if you are surfing in waters inhabited by seals.

Article: Two Island Charter Captains Report a Great White Shark