Latest news with #shark
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Fisherman catches very dangerous shark off Cape Cod as huge great white closes in on beloved peninsula
A Massachusetts fisherman has hooked one of the world's most dangerous sharks just yards from shore - just as a 14-foot, 1,600-pound great white circles nearby waters, stoking fresh fears along the East Coast's most iconic summer playground. The shocking catch, a juvenile tiger shark landed off Mashpee, comes as scientists warn of a surge in aggressive, warm-water predators migrating north due to rapidly rising ocean temperatures. Hans Brings was casting lines at Popponesset Beach, along the Cape's southern edge, when he made the alarming catch just feet from shore. At just four-feet long, the tiger shark is renowned for its aggressive behavior and is second only to the great white in recorded attacks on humans. The unsettling encounter came just days after a satellite ping revealed the largest great white shark ever tagged in the Atlantic, nicknamed 'Contender', cruising just 30 miles off the coast of Nantucket, less than 100 miles from Boston. Brings released the animal back into the sea, but scientists say it's part of a growing trend that's impossible to ignore. 'It's another warm-water species that's taking advantage of the warming waters and coming north,' said scientist at the New England Aquarium John Chisholm to the Boston Herald. 'Now, we're getting little ones like this one every year. We've been seeing more and more of them.' The historic catch is not a one-off event. Marine experts have been sounding the alarm for years: as climate change warms Atlantic waters, tiger sharks, hammerheads, and even bull sharks, all tropical and subtropical predators, are extending their range northward. 'This is now within their comfort zone,' Chisholm explained. Tiger sharks, often called 'garbage cans of the sea' due to their varied and unpredictable diets, can grow large enough to devour seals, a key food source also favored by the great white shark. Indeed, a 14-foot, 1,653-pound great white shark was recently detected just 30 miles off the coast of Nantucket, swimming alarmingly close to the Cape. The massive apex predator, nicknamed 'Contender' by researchers, is believed to be about 32 years old and was first tagged off the Florida-Georgia border earlier this year. Since then, it has pinged more than 40 times as it made a 1,000-mile journey up the East Coast with its dorsal fin breaking the surface from Vero Beach to Cape Hatteras to the cooler waters near Massachusetts, prime territory for seals. Although nothing like the 25-foot movie monster from Jaws, filmed just across the water on Martha's Vineyard, Contender is the largest great white ever tagged in the Atlantic. 'The largest white sharks that have been reliably measured are right around 20 feet, and any larger than this is likely impossible,' said Nick Whitney, PhD, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium to USA Today. 'People need to take precautions when they go into the water,' Chisholm warned. 'We know sharks are here, and you're swimming in a shark habitat, so you have to be aware. 'They're not targeting humans,' he reassured. 'It's usually an accident when they bite somebody, but unfortunately one bite can hit an artery and you can have a loss of life.' Contender's path has sparked unease in local communities, particularly given the shark's proximity to Nantucket, Cape Cod, and Boston, packed with beachgoers throughout the summer. Marine biologist Andriana Fragola, 31, told that beachgoers need to understand how to respond if they encounter a shark. 'The best thing to do is just to remain calm,' she advised. 'If you do want to get out of the water, just slowly kind of back out of it - that way you can keep an eye on the shark while getting out.' 'Any type of screaming and splashing… it's definitely going to make them more interested in pursuing you or just checking you out.' If a shark is nearby, 'eye contact is key,' she added. 'You want to look like a predator… show the shark that you see it. 'And then if the shark ever continued to approach you… you could push down on the top of the head and push it away from you. That's like last-case scenario.' Chisholm noted that larger tiger sharks, like the one caught this week, may soon begin feasting on the Cape's abundant seal colonies. 'They're very opportunistic when it comes to prey,' he said.
CBS News
18 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
Canadian tourist recovering after shark bite near Hollywood Beach
A man visiting from Canada is recovering after being bitten by a shark near Hollywood Beach, according to local authorities. Hollywood Fire Rescue public information officer Chai Kauffman said the man, in his 40s, was vacationing with family and friends when he was bitten while swimming in chest-deep water. The man reported seeing a fish jump over his head followed by a large splash—then realized he had been bitten. Kauffman said the man managed to walk out of the water and collapse onto the sand, where beachgoers rushed to help. First responders applied a tourniquet at the scene before transporting him to Memorial Regional Hospital. He underwent surgery and is in stable condition and recovering well, according to Kauffman. "I normally just worry about the under-current taking me and paying attention to that but now I'm going to have to be looking out for a fin over top of the water now, that's scary," said Alexandria Matty, who was visiting Hallandale Beach from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, with Madison Ritenour. "The last day that we were here it was all the seaweed and stuff so it looks nicer but now I don't know," Ritenour added. Local resident Charlie Dorin, however, said the waters don't worry him. "I see a lot of sharks but they do not bother the people. I've seen them swim right through people, around people. I paddle board here all the time, I see sharks all the time and never has there been an attack," Dorin said. In a separate event in West Palm Beach, shark bite survivors reunited with medical teams at St. Mary's Medical Center. Among them was Jeff Joel, who was bitten by a lemon shark while diving near Jupiter. "I was trying to get it out and I did—she got away but she got me too," Joel said. "I dive with sharks a lot, that's what I did for the last 20 years, and I spear fish too, and I've been surrounded by a dozen bull sharks and I've never had an issue."
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Alarm as Atlantic's biggest great white heads for tourist hotspot
By The biggest ever shark tagged in the Atlantic has been tracked swimming dangerously close to one of America's top summer vacation spots. The 14-foot, 1,653-pound apex predator - nicknamed 'Contender' after the research vessels used by the organization - was recently detected off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, about 30 miles from Cape Cod and 100 miles south of Boston. Marine researchers from nonprofit group OCEARCH, which monitors sharks around the globe, say the adult male is about 32 years old and still going strong, well within the typical great white lifespan of 30 to 40 years. The shark was first tagged in January near the Florida-Georgia border and has since made a 1,000-mile journey up the East Coast. It has pinged more than 40 times along the way, including in February off Vero Beach, Florida , and in June near Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Contender's tracker pings whenever his dorsal fin breaks the surface while an Argos satellite is overhead and allows researchers a glimpse into the migration habits of these top-tier predators. Experts say great whites often head north in spring and summer, following prey and cooler waters , making this latest sighting near Nantucket an unsettling but not unusual event. While large, Contender is still smaller than the blood-thirsty antagonist of the 1975 blockbuster hit Jaws. 'The largest white sharks that have been reliably measured are right around 20 feet, and any larger than this is likely impossible,' Nick Whitney, PhD, the senior scientist and chair of the Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies department at the New England Aquarium told USA Today last year. 'We know this because scientists have been able to calculate the size of white sharks at different ages and show that their growth levels off when they hit around 40 years old. Marine biologist Andriana Fragola, 31, issued advice to beachgoers to keep them safe from shark attacks. 'The best thing to do is just to remain calm,' she told Daily Mail. 'If you do want to get out of the water, just slowly kind of back out of it - that way you can keep an eye on the shark while getting out.' 'Any type of screaming and splashing, they can feel the vibrations of all of that, and it's definitely going to make them more interested in pursuing you or just checking you out.' 'Honestly, standing still is probably the best thing.' If you're in the water and a shark is curious, eye contact is key. 'You want to look like a predator,' she said. 'You're going to stand your ground and show the animal that you see it - show the shark that you see it - by making eye contact and continuing to look around, just in case there's any other sharks in the area.' 'And then if the shark ever continued to approach you... you could push down on the top of the head and push it away from you. That's like last-case scenario.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Alarm as largest great white shark recorded in the Atlantic swims straight towards iconic tourist spot
The biggest ever shark tagged in the Atlantic has been tracked swimming dangerously close to one of America's top summer vacation spots. The 14-foot, 1,653-pound apex predator - nicknamed 'Contender' after the research vessels used by the organization - was recently detected off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, about 30 miles from Cape Cod and 100 miles south of Boston. Marine researchers from nonprofit group OCEARCH, which monitors sharks around the globe, say the adult male is about 32 years old and still going strong, well within the typical great white lifespan of 30 to 40 years. The shark was first tagged in January near the Florida-Georgia border and has since made a 1,000-mile journey up the East Coast. It has pinged more than 40 times along the way, including in February off Vero Beach, Florida, and in June near Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Contender's tracker pings whenever his dorsal fin breaks the surface while an Argos satellite is overhead and allows researchers a glimpse into the migration habits of these top-tier predators. Experts say great whites often head north in spring and summer, following prey and cooler waters, making this latest sighting near Nantucket an unsettling but not unusual event. While large, Contender is still smaller than the blood-thirsty antagonist of the 1975 blockbuster hit Jaws. The 14-foot, 1,653-pound apex predator nicknamed 'Contender' was recently detected off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts While Contender is an impressive 14-foot, 1,653-pound predator, it's still no match for the fictional behemoth - the 25-foot killing machine that terrorized Amity Island in the movie filmed in nearby Martha's Vineyard. But experts say a real-life great white shark that size simply isn't possible. 'The largest white sharks that have been reliably measured are right around 20 feet, and any larger than this is likely impossible,' Nick Whitney, PhD, the senior scientist and chair of the Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies department at the New England Aquarium told USA Today last year. 'We know this because scientists have been able to calculate the size of white sharks at different ages and show that their growth levels off when they hit around 40 years old. 'So you could roughly estimate a white shark's age based on it's length for its first few decades of life, but if you measured several white sharks between the ages of 40 and 70, their lengths would all be similar. 'They're just not going to reach 25 feet. Anything between 16 and 20 feet is a real monster.' Marine biologist Andriana Fragola, 31, issued advice to beachgoers to keep them safe from shark attacks. 'The best thing to do is just to remain calm,' she told Daily Mail. 'If you do want to get out of the water, just slowly kind of back out of it - that way you can keep an eye on the shark while getting out.' 'Any type of screaming and splashing, they can feel the vibrations of all of that, and it's definitely going to make them more interested in pursuing you or just checking you out.' 'Honestly, standing still is probably the best thing.' If you're in the water and a shark is curious, eye contact is key. 'You want to look like a predator,' she said. 'You're going to stand your ground and show the animal that you see it - show the shark that you see it - by making eye contact and continuing to look around, just in case there's any other sharks in the area.' 'And then if the shark ever continued to approach you... you could push down on the top of the head and push it away from you. That's like last-case scenario.'
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Majorca beach evacuated after elderly swimmer attacked by savage fish
A popular beach in the Spanish island of Majorca has been evacuated after an animal, initially thought to be a shark, ravaged a tourist's leg. An Italian woman, 85, rushed out of the water with a bloody gash on her left calf at Palma beach around 11.30am local time on Tuesday, local media reported. Two ambulances swiftly arrived and treated the woman at the scene, before she was rushed to a private clinic with skin loss and a severe wound. The incident took place at the Balneario 6 section of the beach. Police said her muscle tissue was not harmed but her skin had been ripped off. Lifeguards evacuated the beach and conducted a deep search to find the responsible animal using boats. Local environmental councillors supported the search, local media said. The animal was not found so lifeguards restored the green flag about an hour later. Initial reports suggested a shark was responsible but analysis of the bite, which had no teeth marks, suggested it was a bluefish instead. 'Our hypothesis is that the attack may have been caused by a bluefish,' marine biodiversity expert Aniol Esteban told local press based off photos. The bluefish is a large and predatory fish with a powerful jaw. It is often found in the Mediterranean during hotter months. The species is not known to regularly attack humans but it can be aggressive when it is feeding or feels threatened. Environmental changes and increasing water temperatures are also believed to push some marine species closer to the shore. Experts have also suggested a triggerfish could have been responsible. Triggerfish have an aggressive bite and are increasingly prevalent in Balearic shores. It comes after a man died after a shark attack off the Mediterranean coast of Israel in April. The remains, discovered after a two-day search, were identified as those of the victim, whom Israeli media named as Barak Tzach, a man in his 40s and a father of four. The number of shark bites recorded around the world last year is markedly down from 2023, according to The Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File database. In 2024, there were only 47 unprovoked attacks, down by 22 from the previous year and well below the 10-year average of 67.
