2 more sharks spotted off Chatham coast

Posted: 07/03/12 at 4:40 pm EDT      Last Updated: 07/04/12 at 9:34 am EDT

CHATHAM, Mass. (WHDH) -- A pair of sharks was spotted off the coast of Chatham Tuesday.

The sighting came after officials warned swimmers to steer clear of seals because they attract great white sharks.

No one was in the water at Lighthouse Beach Tuesday. Some said it was because the water was too cold -- others said shark sightings had them a little on edge.

Many stood on shore to watch the seals congregating off the coast because they know where there are seals, there could be sharks.

Two more sharks were spotted off the coast of the Cape Tuesday morning. Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., a picture captured a shark about 16-feet long in the waters near Monomoy Island.

"About 30-feet off the beach which is only in about three or four feet of water which is very shallow for a 12 to 15-foot white shark to be in," said Niko Chaprales, Cape Cod shark hunter.

Shark hunters also snapped another picture from a second shark sighting around the same time Tuesday morning, reportedly just south of South Beach in Chatham.

"The interesting thing about this year is that we were hearing the pings, but no one was seeing the shark. So we knew that they were here, but we didn't visually locate them until about last week," said Chaprales.

Tuesday’s sightings follow sightings off the Cape over the weekend. For the last few summers people have been warned about great whites in the area. The Chatham harbormaster is reminding people they need to be cautious and aware, which means avoiding swimming in areas where grey seals gather.

“The only area that we really have any concern with is our east-facing ocean beaches. It comprises in Chatham’s area about six miles of beach. Chatham has 66 miles of coastline so we're talking about a very small area,” said Stuart Smith, Chatham harbormaster.

The harbormaster says only one great white shark has been spotted this summer in the Lighthouse Beach area.

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