CHATHAM, Mass. (Sept. 7) - The sightings of several great white sharks have prompted a swimming ban for the rest of the Labor Day weekend at some oceanside beaches in Massachusetts.
Officials at North Beach, Lighthouse Beach, South Beach and Hardings Beach in Chatham and Nauset Beach in Orleans put up red "no swimming" signs after a shark expert with the state Division of Marine Fisheries spotted four great whites off Chatham's coast Saturday.
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Massachusetts State Division of Marine Fisheries / AP
A great white shark swims in the waters near Cape Cod, Mass., in October 2004. Sharks are common in Cape waters during the summer, but great whites are relatively rare around New England.
The expert, senior biologist Gregory Skomal, and his crew were able to tag two of the sharks with electronic tracking devices. He says the sharks were 8 and 10 feet long. The tags -- which don't hurt or harm the sharks -- allow scientists to better understand their migratory patterns.
Scientists told Boston's WBZ-TV that it's the first time that great whites have been successfully tagged in the Atlantic Ocean.
"We had an incredible day today, and one I would never have anticipated," Skomal told WBZ.
Sharks are common in Cape waters during summer, though great white sharks are relatively rare around New England.
State officials have warned area swimmers to be on the lookout for sharks this weekend, and state environmental police are patrolling the area as a precaution.
Massachusetts has recorded only four shark attacks since 1670, two of which were fatal, according to CNN. The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts happened in 1936.
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