The arrival of spring is often marked by flowers, types of birds and warmer weather.
It’s also a time when the first sharks are typically spotted off the beaches of Massachusetts.
The Sharktivity app shows that there are virtually no sharks swimming in Bay State waters right now and it will likely still be a couple months before the first great white sharks arrive. In 2025, the first great white shark was seen off Massachusetts in mid-May near the western end of Nantucket.
Where are all the sharks right now?
Where are sharks spending time before heading to Massachusetts waters?
Before migrating to Massachusetts, white sharks primarily spend the winter months in warmer, southern waters, which include areas like the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, according to Ocearch online.
In the past week, tagged white sharks have been pinging in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of the Carolinas.
What kinds of sharks exist in Massachusetts waters?
More than white sharks that come to Massachusetts in the spring. In fact, there are about 23 types of sharks that exist in Bay State waters, according to a past USA Today Network interview with New England Aquarium associate research scientist Ryan Knotek.
Knotek added that most of these shark species migrate, heading to warmer waters during the winter to avoid freezing and then return for the warmer months.
They include Shortfin Mako sharks, Sand tiger sharks, Sandbar sharks, Thresher sharks, Dusky sharks, Porbeagle sharks, Blue sharks, Basking sharks, Tiger sharks, Whale sharks, Hammerhead sharks, and others.
These days, shark warnings are often seen on Bay State beaches. Here is a warning posted at Nauset Beach on Cape Cod last year.
How can people keep track of white shark sightings?
People can keep up with any great white, or other shark activity via the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s free Sharktivity app, which “provides information and push notifications on white shark sightings, detections, and movements to raise awareness and help people and sharks co-exist.”
When is ‘Shark Week’ this year on Discovery Channel?
This year, the popular week of shark-oriented programming will air on Discovery from July 6-13, 2026.
This article originally appeared on wickedlocal.com: Not in Massachusetts yet. Here’s where sharks are pinging this spring
