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Scientists tracking 12-foot white shark in southern Maine waters

A shark is seen swimming across a sand bar on Aug. 13, 2021, from a shark watch with Dragonfly Sportfishing charters, off the Massachusetts' coast of Cape Cod.
Phil Marcelo
/
AP file
A shark is seen swimming across a sand bar on Aug. 13, 2021, from a shark watch with Dragonfly Sportfishing charters, off the Massachusetts' coast of Cape Cod.

People who monitor shark tracking apps have noticed a white shark hanging around Casco Bay over the past week.

It's a shark that is familiar to James Sulikowski of Arizona State University, who has been studying sharks in Maine for years.

Sulikowski tagged this shark in April off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Then he used the tags to track the shark, a 12-foot male he named Bobby E, as it made its way north. First it went to Brooklyn, New York, in June, then to Cape Cod.

"But then, what was even more amazing, was that Bobby ended up in Maine," he said.

White sharks are frequent visitors to Maine, and Sulikowski and others are learning more about their habits every year, through collaborative research projects. Sulikowski said they are trying to answer many questions, including if white shark numbers are increasing in the area.

Murray Carpenter is Maine Public’s climate reporter, covering climate change and other environmental news.