Cape Cod seals, watch out: White shark migrating north 'getting a head start' on shark season

Rick Sobey, Boston Herald on May 2, 2025

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BOSTON — Hopefully Cape seals pay attention to the news.

If they do, this is their warning: The great white sharks are coming.

The latest sign that the apex predators will soon arrive is on a popular shark tracker, which shows a 9.5-foot subadult male white shark near Martha’s Vineyard and Rhode Island.

The 450-plus pound shark named “Danny” — tagged this winter off the Florida and Georgia coast by OCEARCH — has recently traveled more than 400 miles from the warm waters off North Carolina to the much cooler coastal waters off New England.

“It’s normal for white sharks to begin their northern migration in late spring but Danny appears to be getting a head start,” said John Tyminski, OCEARCH data scientist.

“Typically, white sharks migrate between mid-May and late June from their overwintering grounds off the southeastern U.S. to summer feeding areas off Cape Cod or Atlantic Canada regions with thriving seal populations, a favorite food source of these apex predators,” the researcher added.

When Danny was off North Carolina, the water temperature was about 70 degrees. Now that Danny is off New England, the shark is in water temps of about 48 degrees.

Along the Cape, May is when white shark activity starts to pick up, said shark researcher John Chisholm who expects that some white sharks are already here.

Chisholm this week was trying to confirm a report of a seal with a white shark bite.

“We’ll start to get steady reports of seals with shark bites, dolphins with bites,” he said. “It’s not always directly a shark sighting, but there’s enough evidence that it’s a white shark.”

If you see a white shark, Chisholm urges people to report the sighting to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.

Danny was tagged off the coast near the Florida/Georgia line in January. The shark is outfitted with both a SPOT and PSAT tag, enabling researchers to track his movements and collect real-time data for about five years.

“Danny’s journey is particularly special as he’s named after one of OCEARCH’s biggest fans and supporters,” the OCEARCH website reads. “His story continues the legacy of global community collaboration in ocean conservation. By tracking Danny, we’re not only unlocking new insights into the life history of white sharks but also connecting to the people like Danny who help make this research possible.

“We’ll continue to follow his travels and look forward to uncovering more about his role in the ecosystem as well as his migration patterns,” the site states. “Through ongoing efforts like these, we aim to deepen our understanding of sharks and continue our work toward protecting these incredible creatures.”

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