App Warns Weston Family About Nearby Great White Shark

WESTON, MA – A group of boaters in Cape Cod used a mobile app to avoid a close encounter with a great white shark Monday.

The Boston Globe identified the boaters as a Weston family docked at a stretch of beach in Chatham.

They were using Sharktivity, an app released earlier this month by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. The app, developed in conjunction with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the Cape Cod National Seashore, and officials from Cape Cod and South Shore Towns, aggregates confirmed sightings, detections, movements and research to help beachgoers better understand shark patterns.

Users can also submit their own sightings for confirmation.

The family was alerted by a nearby conservancy boat that the shark was next to their vessel as they packed to leave. The shark, identified as "James," had been previously tagged and was being tracked by researchers, the Globe reported.

"We were grateful for ... the warning," one of the boaters said in a statement to the conservancy.

>>>Read the full Boston Globe story here.

Sharktivity app

• Jason Claffey (Patch Staff) contributed to this report.