A photograph taken at Nauset Beach captured an image of a man in a wet suit paddling on a surfboard, where a shark fin can be seen next to him.
CBS News reports that people need to “remain vigilant,” as a great white shark was spotted off of Cape Cod. The Orleans Department of Natural Resources explained that the photo was taken at about 8 a.m. Joe Mault of Orleans Camera took the photo, which was posted on the official Facebook page. Beachgoers are reminded that this is peak season for white sharks off of New England shores.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy referred to the photo as “incredible.”
“This highlights that sharks are not out to get humans, and is also a reminder that we are still in the peak of white shark activity off the coast of Cape Cod through October.”
At the beginning of September, a photographer caught another image of a shark leaping out of the water off Truro’s Head of the Meadow Beach.
Mault explains that he was just hoping to catch some photos of the surfer catching a wave, then he was shocked to see a fin pop out of the water.
https://www.facebook.com/OrleansBeaches/photos/pcb.1352875841529345/1352875514862711/?type=3&theater
The photographer shares that it was amazing how close the shark fin was to the surfer.
“All of a sudden I saw the wake and then the fin, and it was pretty evident thereafter that it was a shark. It was within feet of him,” said Mault.
Mault had headed to the beach early to catch photos of the waves stirred up by the remains of Hurricane Humberto. He did a double-take at first, thinking he was seeing the leash that connected the board to the surfer. He says he kept snapping photos when he realized the surfer was aware of the shark’s presence, paddling hard to get away from the creature.
When the surfer returned to shore, Mault talked to him about when he noticed there was a shark next to him.
“He thought maybe it was a seal popping his head out of the water but when he looked over his shoulder it was pretty clear it wasn’t a seal. It’s a pretty scary thing.”
Sharks have been in the news this month from a conservation point of view. The organization Love The Oceans announced that they named a whale shark after the newest royal, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex named the charity as one of their “Forces For Change.”