Overview

• A May 2025 Marine Ecology Progress Series study found detections off Halifax up about 2.5 times from 2018–2022 and nearly fourfold in the Cabot Strait, with average residency increasing from roughly 48 to 70 days.
• Maine’s Department of Marine Resources has catalogued 93 unique white sharks since 2020, including 19 individuals recorded on 47 dates in 2024.
• Great whites are protected in U.S. federal waters under a fishing ban in place since 1997, and Massachusetts tightened shoreline gear rules after anglers targeted the species in 2024.
• Despite more sightings, severe incidents are uncommon, with fewer than 60 fatal great white bites documented globally and Maine’s first recorded fatality occurring in 2020.
• Recent monitoring and public reports include August 2025 drone footage of a shark off Scarborough, Maine, with tools such as the Sharktivity app used to log sightings.