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Great White Sharks Recently Spotted Off Chatham, Truro

CHATHAM (CBS) - Sharks are back on Cape Cod, and it feels like this is becoming a summer trend.

A great white spotted by a state biologist off Chatham on Tuesday, while another was seen nearby last Friday. A third sighting was recently reported in Truro.

Members of the Chatham habormaster's crew said they patrol all day every day, and so far they haven't seen any great whites right near the shore.

WBZ-TV's Christina Hager reports.

Biologists said that the once-threatened population of seals has rebounded since laws protecting seals were enacted back in the 1970's. The seals, as a result, have drawn more and more sharks to the area in recent years.

Last summer, the great whites were spotted off the Cape for weeks. They were so close to shore that officials had to close beaches. Right now, all the beaches are open.

Scientists tagged six of the sharks last year. One swam to Florida by December, and then into the Gulf of Mexico by January. Another shark was tracked, in April, 200 miles off of Georgia.

Experts stress that beachgoers should use common sense when it comes to sharks and be aware of their surroundings.

The last shark attack on a human off the coast of Massachusetts was in 1936.

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