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First Great White Shark Of Season Spotted Off Nauset Beach

ORLEANS (CBS) - In what has become a rite of summer on Cape Cod, the first great white shark of the season has been spotted swimming near Nauset Beach.

On Saturday, researchers from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy tracked a 12-to-15-foot shark about a quarter-of-a-mile offshore. The shark was spotted from a plane.

They gave this particular shark, a female, the name "Ping."

Ping's arrival comes about two weeks earlier than last year's first sighting of the summer.

When word spread of the shark-sighting, some beachgoers packed up and left but the beach never closed.

Researchers are working on a survey to determine how many great white sharks visit Cape shores each year.

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