Most beaches that you visit have a flag system, where different levels of danger correspond with a flag color system. This Nantucket beach is skipping all of that and just saying “yeah. don’t get in the water.”
Swimming has actually been banned off parts of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts after a multitude of violent great white sharks have been spotted off the coast.
Officials have said that a number of recent seal attacks as well as the sharks themselves being extremely close to the shore prompted the ban on swimming. According to officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Trustees of the Reservation, an estimated four seal have been attacked and killed in the previous couple of days.
The two services decided in conjunction that it would be best to protect visitors by prohibiting swimming at the Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge, as well as near Great Point, until they can ensure that the sharks are no longer putting swimmers in danger.
The refuge is located where the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound come together, and is at the very northern part of the island. Part of the reasoning behind the ban is that the Great Point area is a very remote location, so if something were to happen, the likelihood of quick medical response would be low.
Officials say that over nine great white sharks were spotted in the water surrounding the Great Point area when a plane was used to monitor from above early on Tuesday.
The Boston Herald shared a post showing the location of the refuge and Great Point, saying:
“After great white sharks were spotted enjoying a ‘feast’ off of Nantucket along with other reports of shark predations on seals, swimming has been banned at a wildlife refuge.”
Sarah Cassell, a director of marketing and communication at the Trustees, said in a statement:
“This is not a decision we’ve made lightly. Visitors’ safety is our utmost concern, especially given the remote location of this beach should a serious incident occur.
We’ll continue to monitor shark activity in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”
And if you need more convincing to stay out of the water at the Nantucket Wildlife Refuge, look no further than this terrifying recent footage of a seal getting dragged under and eaten by one of the great whites that they are worried about.
The clips caption states:
“Looks like a seal got munched at Great Point off Nantucket today.”
The ocean can be a scary place…
