It’s what sharks dream of: A massive easy meal.
Lucky sharks were recently spotted chowing down on a basking shark’s liver off the North Shore, according to a local whale watch.
The 7 Seas Whale Watch out of Gloucester came across the feast on Wednesday. The mesmerized whale watchers got a front-row seat to blue sharks feeding on the giant liver of a basking shark.
“It was so cool,” 7 Seas Whale Watch lead naturalist Amanda Johnston told the Herald. “It’s something you might see in National Geographic, but we’ve never seen anything like this out here.”
The boat was in Jeffreys Ledge, about 33 miles north of Gloucester, when they received a report from another boat that there was some large piece of fat or carcass floating at the surface. The whale watch then found the shark’s liver with a bunch of birds around.
“It was pretty incredible,” the 7 Seas Whale Watch posted. “I could have watched this all day!”
“… There were chunks of it (the basking shark) spread out for miles,” the whale watch added. “It may have just died of natural causes and has been torn apart by sharks over time. But exactly how it died I guess we’ll never know.”
Blue sharks are known to scavenge on basking shark carcasses, according to John Chisholm, an adjunct scientist at the New England Aquarium.
For instance, Captain John Boats out of Plymouth during a whale watch last August came across a dead basking shark that was being scavenged by five to six blue sharks.
“It was an incredible sight,” Captain John Boats posted.
Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world. The typical basking shark that local whale watches see are about 20 to 25 feet long, weighing several tons.
7 Seas Whale Watch has been seeing quite a few blue sharks in recent weeks.
Meanwhile on the South Shore this week, an injured seal with a shark bite washed up on a Duxbury beach. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation rescue team received a call about an injured male yearling harbor seal.
An injured seal with a shark bite washed up on a Duxbury beach this week. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation photo)
“We quickly made our way to the beach and after assessing the seal’s injuries and discussing options with our veterinarians and rehabilitation facilities, we made the decision to collect him in hopes that he could have a second chance in rehab,” Whale and Dolphin Conservation posted.
“Unfortunately, after a full examination, we discovered that these injuries, severe tissue damage and bone fractures from a shark interaction, were too extensive for treatment,” WDC added. “We made the tough, but humane choice to euthanize him. Euthanasia is not a decision that we take lightly. We gather as much information as possible and work directly with highly skilled and trained marine mammal veterinarians to make the best decision for the welfare of the animal.”
While there’s an uptick of great white shark activity this time of year, researchers also receive many reports of ocean sunfish, also known as Mola molas.
“Is it a white shark fin, or another animal? As we start to see more reports of Mola Molas (ocean sunfish) along the coastline, they can be misidentified as white sharks,” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy posted.
“As they sun themselves, their dorsal fin will flap in and out of the water,” AWSC added. “BUT Mola Molas are not the only animal that can be mistaken for a white shark. Seals will often bobble at the surface, stretching their head up, and can be mistaken for a white shark fin from far away.”