Great white shark bids farewell

GREENWICH — Cabot the great white shark — who earned many fans and followers in Greenwich and beyond — has moved out of Long Island Sound.

OCEARCH, a maritime research and educational organization that has been tracking Cabot, said the latest track for the nearly 10-foot shark was off the southern coast of Long Island. That would mean the great white, whose tracking device sent out a ping off the coast of Greenwich on Monday morning, has moved out of the Sound and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Great whites can move fast, able to travel 100 to 150 miles per day.

It’s likely that the shark followed food sources — seals or fish — into the Sound, marine scientists said.

The big fish was tagged with a tracking device off Nova Scotia last year, and it has been previously traced to the waters off Florida and Maryland in recent months. OCEARCH named the shark Cabot, after explorer John Cabot.

The Greenwich Police Department weighed in on the brief appearance of the shark off the town’s shoreline and issued a statement that it was not a risk to the public.

“This is a good time for Long Island Sound and the communities that line it. We are fortunate to live and work along its shorelines. Cabot reminds us that nature is all around us and we should take a moment to stop and enjoy what it has to offer,” the departmental statement said. “Cabot does not pose a significant risk to people on the Sound. Shark attacks on people, while sensational when they happen, are very rare. Like any other wild animal if you see Cabot watch and enjoy this magnificent creature from a distance.”

The curator of a shark exhibit at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Kate Dzikiewicz, called the appearance of the 533-pound “subadult” shark an exciting occasion.

“I thought it was pretty amazing, but in some senses, not that surprising. We’ve always suspected that great white sharks occasionally visit Long Island Sound, so this was something of a confirmation,” she said Tuesday.

While many are afraid sharks, Dzikiewicz noted, “people should be aware that Long Island Sound is completely safe to swim in.”

She agreed that the visit by Cabot was a positive sign that the waters of the Sound are sustaining a wide variety of sea life. “It’s a great sign for the health of our water,” she said.

The global population of great white sharks have been in overall decline for decades. “Around the United States, they are starting to experience a comeback. But they are vulnerable, it is important we protect these animals,” said Dzikiewicz.

“It may be another few years before we see another great white visiting like Cabot did,” she added.

Dave Sigworth, a spokesman for the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, said it’s unusual to spot a great white in the Sound. The local waters are home to four native species of sharks: sand tigers, brown sharks (also known as sandbar sharks) and two species of dogfish. But great whites are fairly common in Block Island Sound, Sigworth said.

“It’s all about food — they’ll eat other types of fish, and seals,” he said. “Who’s to say one wouldn’t stick his toe in Long Island Sound once in a while?”