Great White Shark Is Escorted Back to Sea

As Massachusetts marine officials hung off a boat yelling, “Go! Go! Go!” biologists on Cape Cod escorted a great white shark back to the open ocean.

Monday’s carefully planned maneuver ended a two-week sojourn by the 1,700-pound female shark in a lagoon on Naushon Island -- about three miles from Woods Hole on Cape Cod.

The 14-foot creature had become a tourist attraction as it swam in endless circles in a shallow area filled with a plentiful supply of smaller fish.

But biologists worried that the shark had become stranded or disoriented, and state officials late last week put a halt to what had become a thriving industry of small fishing boats hauling visitors to gaze at the giant fish. It’s not often that great white sharks are easily seen in the wild, and even scientists rarely gain continuous access to the large, powerful fish.

Marine biologists and state officials used water hoses to help propel the shark across a long sandbar that apparently had blocked its return to the ocean after it entered the lagoon.

Other than using a pole to insert a data-tracking device in the shark, scientists did not touch it. The mechanism will measure body and water temperatures, among other things.

To protect the shark, the state Department of Fish & Game enacted an emergency ordinance banning the harassment or harpooning of great white sharks.