Every year, we anxiously await the arrival of songbirds and hummingbirds. Or for animals to start crawling out of their dens after long winter's naps. Or on the darker side, we are just as anxious about the arrival of ticks, mosquitoes, black flies, and horse flies... and even tourists.

But now that spring has sprung and summer is on the way, another seasonal visitor seems to be headed north as well. Nope, I'm not talking about your perennials coming up, I'm talking about Great White Sharks. They've been spotted more and more every year off the coast of New England, but also plenty right here in Maine.

According to WGME - TV13, the big fish are swimming this way, and have already been spotted off the coast of Massachusetts. Maine is only an aquatic stone's throw away from Massachusetts, so how long will it be before we spot them around here? Probably not as long as most of us would like, certainly.

Just last year, there was a tragic and fatal attack off the coast of Bailey Island, and great white sightings have become far more common in our waters. To the point where much research is being done such as tracking devices, and underwater tracking beacons, etc. Maine and New England's waters are becoming more attractive to them all the time.

So what should you keep in mind to avoid meeting one of these beasts? Researchers suggest not swimming around sunrise or sunset, especially if you've seen any seal activity in the area. Seals are a huge staple of the great white diet. When attacks do occur, it's likely due to a misidentification on the shark's part.

I remember a surfer friend of mine telling me how he was working on a chainmail wet suit, and I chuckled. Naively, I asked if he was afraid of being bitten by a shark. I asked him almost mockingly. And he looked at me dead serious, and said, "uuuhhhhh, yeah man." I was still kind of laughing when I noticed he wasn't laughing at all.

Look, none of this means Chief Brody needs to show up and shut down the beaches. But, it's good to keep in mind that we do share our waters with some pretty serious creatures who bite first, and ask questions later. So enjoy your summer, but keep an eye on the water.

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