Shark Bites Paddleboard, Shuts Down Cape Beach

WELLFLEET — A beach on Cape Cod was closed after a shark bit a paddleboard when a man was standing on it.

According to the Facebook page for the Cape Cod National Seashore, the shark bite was confirmed at Marconi Beach in Welfleet. The shark only bit the paddleboard, and did not bite the 69-year-old rider.

The incident occurred approximately 30 yards off-shore in three feet of water, approximately 50 to 75 yards south of the lifeguard-protected beach.

The post points out that seals were observed swimming nearby, and that it was high tide with calm seas.

Staff from the national seashore, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy are investigating.

Marconi Beach was immediately closed for swimming.

Several other beaches on Cape Cod were closed Monday due to shark sightings. At one beach in Orleans, a shark attacked a seal close to shore, sending surfers a few yards away frantically swimming to land.