White sharks like Maine beaches, too [Video]

Great white sharks appear to be using the shallow coastal waters next to some of Maine’s most popular beaches in late summer while traveling between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia, most likely snacking on the growing seal populations in the Gulf of Maine.

A team of New England scientists documented 107 white sharks off the coast of Maine, ranging from 7 to 16 feet in length, between 2012 and 2023, with most detected within a half mile from shore in less than 65 feet of water, according to a study published last month in Frontiers in Marine Science.

But the total number of white sharks in Maine remains very low compared to known hotspots like Cape Cod or Hilton Head, according to the study’s lead author, Matthew Davis of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. On average, Maine beaches had a tagged white nearby less than seven days a year.

The relatively low numbers led the research team to …