ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 24, 2025
Rick Clough spent some four decades fishing for lobsters and sea urchins off the Maine coast before spotting one of the ocean’s most recognized predators — a great white shark. The shark, seen off the beach town of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but didn’t make him fear the ocean. Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks, the creatures made famous by the 1975 film “Jaws.” Sightings of the apex predators are up in places like Maine, where they were once very rarely spotted. New data show the sharks are heading farther north into Maine and beyond. A key reason for the shift seems to be the successful conservation of seals off New England and Canada via laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has allowed seals to thrive and provide a food source for the predatory sharks.