Great White Washes Up On Nauset Beach

ORLEANS – Nauset Beach staff attended to a dead great white shark that washed up onto shore Tuesday morning.

 Officials responded to a report of the 12-foot, 1,240-pound shark at approximately 8 a.m., according to Tony Pike, the town’s beach safety director.

 “The difficulty with the tide, it was just staying in the surfline just a little bit and then it would recede with the tide,” he said. “So it was difficult for the staff to get a line on it, particularly this time of year.”

 A ranger vehicle was used to tow the animal to the beach’s lower parking lot, Pike said. From there, the shark was taken to the public works headquarters on Giddiah Hill Road, where a necropsy was set to be conducted Wednesday by state shark biologist Dr. Greg Skomal.

 “It’s not clearly evident what may have taken down that shark,” Pike said Tuesday.

Reports of the stranding surfaced on social media early Tuesday morning, which Pike said prompted some townspeople to come to the beach and observe the activity.

The beach has become a hot spot for shark sightings in recent years. Sightings and reports are common as sharks attempt to feed on seals, oftentimes in shallow waters. 

“The shark census is unbelievable around Nauset,” Pike said.