Swimming has been banned in some areas around Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, after five seals were attacked and killed by great white sharks near the shore, per the Nantucket Current. One of these attacks — in which a seal was bitten in half — was captured on video.
Officials with The Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit organization committed to protecting the regional environment, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have prohibited swimming along Great Point and the Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge, per NBC News.
“This is not a decision we’ve made lightly,” Sarah Cassell, managing director of marketing and communications at the Trustees, told the outlet Tuesday.
“Visitor safety is our utmost concern, especially given the remote location of this beach should a serious incident occur,” she continued. “We’ll continue to monitor shark activity in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”
An aerial survey Tuesday spotted nine great whites in the waters, with footage from locals like Nick Gault capturing even more — particularly the seal being dismembered.
Diane Lang, stewardship manager of the local Trustees, told the Current that, while residents are aware of the dangers of swimming in that area, tourists decidedly aren’t.
“We saw people jumping in the water over the Fourth of July,” Lang said. “We have visitors come out and they’re naive to their surroundings.”
The new ban is a first for the Trustees, as previous guidelines merely prohibited swimming only at the tip of Great Point — and that was because of rip currents. Even confirmed shark sightings had previously led to a mere two-hour swimming ban, per the Current.
Lang said the seal attacks are of great concern.
“Those videos are pretty troubling and no human could survive that, we know that,” Lang told the outlet. “The policy is in place now. We’re telling visitors no swimming at Great Point. I was in touch with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and they’re in full agreement.”
Global shark attacks on humans reached a 10-year low in 2022, with only five of 108 alleged encounters being fatal, according to the International Shark Attack File from the University of Florida. While sharks and seals — which are a major prey of great whites — have left Nantucket waters since the attacks, they’re expected to return.
Gray seals have historically congregated at the Great Point barrier beach.
“As such, there is currently no projected timeline as to how long the prohibition on swimming may last,” David Eisenhauer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told NBC News. “This is the first closure of the season due to shark activity.”