Two beaches in Truro were temporarily closed Monday morning after two great white sharks were sighted by researchers out on the water looking for the ocean predators.
According to an alert sent out on the Sharktivity app by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, the sharks were seen near the Longnook Beach area. It was unclear how close the sharks were to the shore.
A woman who answered the phone at the Truro Beach Office said Longnook was closed to swimming for an hour, after the sightings were reported. The alert was sent out from the app just after 11 a.m.
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According to a post on the town’s website, swimming was also barred until noon at Ballston Beach “as a precaution.”
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit based in Chatham that works with state biologists to tag great whites, launched the Sharktivity app in July. The app, which is available for download on iPhones, lets users report their own shark encounters, track the movements of previously tagged sharks, and sends push alerts when the predators are nearby public beaches.
Monday’s sighting comes a day after a photographer captured images of a great white devouring a seal off Provincetown.
In pictures taken by Peter Flood on Sunday, a shark’s fin can be seen poking above the ocean’s surface. The predator is surrounded by a pool of blood, as other seals look on. The conservancy shared the image taken by Flood to their Facebook page Sunday night.
Awesome picture by Peter Flood of a predation off Provincetown, Massachusetts this morning!
Posted by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Sunday, August 28, 2016
A great white spotted roughly four feet from shore at Race Point Beach in Provincetown Sunday also prompted closures.
Sharks have been spotted a few times over the summer snagging a meal on the Cape, including in July near Chatham, and before that, in June. Shark sightings have also led to other temporary beach closures.