The male killer whale is occasionally seen off the Massachusetts coast this time of year. He was spotted in Stellwagen Bank a couple months ago, and now he was seen off the southern Cape \u2014 east of Nantucket.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s sighting by Sureshot Charters comes almost two years to the day from his visit in 2024<\/a>. The fishermen on Wednesday were out looking for tuna when they spotted Old Thom about 10 miles off Nantucket.<\/p>\n \u201cNever know what you will come across when you are offshore!\u201d posted Sureshot Charters, which is based out of Yarmouth.<\/p>\n Captain Shawn Deane told the Herald that he has been fishing around the Cape for more than 20 years, and this was the first time that he saw an orca.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t see that every day,\u201d Deane said. \u201cWe see tons of humpbacks, right whales, dolphins, but we had never seen a killer whale. It was definitely a cool experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Old Thom is sometimes seen with a pod of dolphins, but he was seen swimming alone, Deane said.<\/p>\n The orca is easily recognizable due to his unique dorsal fin with its distinct notch.<\/p>\n Researchers have been tracking him around the region for more than a decade.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time he\u2019s spotted, it\u2019s so exciting,\u201d said shark researcher John Chisholm, an adjunct scientist in the Aquarium\u2019s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. \u201cHe\u2019s really an interesting specimen.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the summer and fall, Old Thom is usually spotted in the northern Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy \u2014 often accompanied by a pod of white-sided dolphins.<\/p>\n Chisholm is interested in how Old Thom\u2019s presence affects the behavior of sharks in the area.\u00a0So far, it appears he has had no impact.<\/p>\n \u201cOrcas have had an impact on shark species in other parts of the world, so we want to keep track of him,\u201d Chisholm said.<\/p>\n Killer whales around the world are known to eat seals, sharks, and fish.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know he\u2019ll often travel with dolphins, so one theory is he\u2019s mainly a fish eater,\u201d Chisholm said.<\/p>\n White shark spotted in Cape Cod Bay<\/p>\n![\""Old](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_6079.jpg\")
“Old Thom” was seen about 10 miles off Nantucket. (Shawn Deane Sureshot Charters photo)<\/p>\n