The legendary killer whale known as “Old Thom” is back.

A group on a tuna fishing expedition off Massachusetts over the weekend spotted the well-known orca — leading to plenty of excitement from the fishing crew.

Old Thom was seen with a pod of dolphins, which is typical behavior from the killer whale.

“There he is! There he is! It’s an orca!” Donna Piraino said when she spotted Old Thom. “That’s crazy! That is crazy!”

The killer whale was spotted off Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary — which is more than 20 miles east of Boston, between Cape Cod and Cape Ann.

Researchers are able to identify Old Thom based on his very distinct dorsal fin. The solitary bull orca was first spotted 17 years ago.

Last year, boaters saw Old Thom off Chatham. Orca sightings are very rare in these parts, and researchers urge anyone who sees an orca to report it.

Killer whales have been seen attacking great white sharks off South Africa in recent years. That hasn’t happened off the Cape, yet.

Meanwhile, Cape shark researchers recently tagged the first white shark of the season. Shark scientist Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, tagged a white shark in Cape Cod Bay.

“This also marks the first camera tag deployment in Cape Cod Bay!” the Conservancy posted.

“The video footage and data recorded by the tags will be used to learn more about white shark habitat use and behavior in Cape Cod Bay and will be compared with previous deployments along the Outer Cape to evaluate differences between how sharks use those two areas and how that may translate to differences in the risk posed by sharks to recreational water users.”

First white shark tagged of the season! Yesterday, Dr. Greg Skomal, with the @MassDMF, working with the AWSC, tagged a white shark in Cape Cod Bay. This also marks the first camera tag deployment in Cape Cod Bay! pic.twitter.com/0oWtg8OCme

— Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (@A_WhiteShark) August 8, 2025

Every year, local researchers have been getting reports of white sharks in Cape Cod Bay stealing striped bass off fishing lines.

Researchers with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy are hoping to learn more about these shark and hooked striped bass interactions this summer, and the camera tags in Cape Cod Bay may help shed some light on this shark behavior in the bay.

Originally Published: August 11, 2025 at 12:21 PM EDT