Great white sharks conquer the north: more sightings off New England and Canada

Encounters with the great white shark in the cool waters of New England and Atlantic Canada were once an absolute rarity – but that is now changing. Almost 50 years after the movie classic “Jaws”, the notorious predator is back in the headlines: great white sharks are increasingly being spotted along coasts such as Maine and Nova Scotia. For local fishers, swimmers, and surfers, this means suddenly having to adapt to a new neighbor in the sea.

Fisherman Rick Clough recently had a startling experience: after around 40 years of lobster and sea urchin fishing off the coast of Maine, he saw one of the legendary top predators for the very first time this July. Off the harbor town of Scarborough, a white shark about 2.4 meters long swam beneath his boat – a premiere that amazed even the seasoned coastal fisherman. “I’m not sure I still want to dive for sea urchins now,” Clough admitted.

Clough’s sighting is no longer an isolated case. In early August, shellfish fisherman David Lancaster filmed a white shark about 3.6 meters long with a drone right off the popular beaches of his hometown Scarborough. “Impressive and truly incredible to see,” he said enthusiastically – but the sight also made him realize that swimmers now need to be more cautious.

Predators follow the seals into cooler waters

Why are great white sharks increasingly appearing in northern regions? Scientists mainly attribute the trend to an abundance of prey: thanks to strict protection laws, the seal population off New England and eastern Canada has recovered strongly in recent decades – now attracting their natural enemies, the sharks. “It could simply be due to a growing food supply, and that would be seals,” explains shark researcher Greg Skomal. Climate change may also play a role, as rising water temperatures open up new hunting grounds for the animals – but the main motive is the hunt for seals.

In fact, studies show that the predators are steadily expanding their range further north. Great whites have long been regularly sighted off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but they are now also appearing off New Hampshire, Maine, and up into Atlantic Canada. A recent study found that the number of white sharks off Halifax (Nova Scotia) increased 2.5 times between 2018 and 2022; in the Cabot Strait between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, detections were almost four times higher than just a few years earlier. In addition, tagged animals are spending increasingly more time in northern waters – instead of around 48 days, they now remain about 70 days per season in the far north, as Skomal reports. All this suggests that great white sharks are becoming increasingly comfortable in cooler habitats.

Protection measures and rare attacks

Not only seals but also the sharks themselves have long been under protection. In the U.S., a ban on catching great white sharks in federal waters has been in place since 1997. Nevertheless, some fishers recently attempted to specifically target the marine predators – Massachusetts responded in 2024 with a ban on certain heavy fishing gear in coastal areas where the animals are most often found. These measures serve to protect the species, as the great white shark is still listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List, despite local population increases. “We believe it is not a safe practice to fish for great white sharks from the shore – not only because the shark could die in the process, but also for reasons of public safety,” warns Skomal.

For humans, however, the feared ocean hunter poses far less danger than Hollywood once led us to believe. Worldwide, fewer than 60 deaths from great white shark attacks are known throughout recorded history. Even on the North American East Coast, where humans and predators now encounter each other more closely, serious incidents remain extremely rare. In Maine, the very first fatal shark attack ever was recorded in July 2020, when a 63-year-old swimmer was killed by a great white shark off Bailey Island. “It is an exceptionally rare event,” emphasizes Ashleigh Novak, project coordinator at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Nevertheless, she stresses the importance of raising awareness, “to adapt human behavior and prevent negative encounters between people and sharks as much as possible.”

Watchful calm on the coast

The growing presence of sharks on New England’s beaches stirs both fascination and unease, but experts advise calm caution rather than panic. During the summer months, shark sightings always draw great attention on social media. A smartphone app called “Sharktivity” helps record reported great white sightings in New England in real time and warn swimmers. Authorities also share simple guidelines to further minimize the already extremely low residual risk: swimmers should stay close to shore and in groups, avoid splashing around, and not enter the water near seals or at dusk. By following these recommendations, the risk of an unwelcome encounter with “the great white” remains vanishingly small.

“It’s crazy that they’re here now … you keep it in the back of your mind, but you have to accept it,” says fisherman and surfer David Lancaster from Maine.