Great white sharks head north, following seals and alarming beachgoers

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — Rick Clough spent some four decades fishing for lobsters and sea urchins off the Maine coast before spotting one of the ocean's most recognized predators — a great white shark.

The approximately 8-foot (2.4-meter) shark, seen off the beach town of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but didn’t make him fear the ocean — though he admitted, “I’m not sure I’d want to go urchin diving now.”

Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks, the creatures made famous by the 1975 film “Jaws.” Sightings of the apex predators are up in places like Maine, where they were once very rarely spotted.

Scientists link the white shark sightings to increased availability of the seals the sharks feast on, and say beachgoers are generally very safe from shark bites. The sharks can grow close to 20 feet (6 meters) long, though most don't get that big.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/great-white-sharks-head-north-115303663.html