A surfer notices a shark swimming behind him off Nauset Beach in Orleans. —Joe Mault, Orleans Camera

Joe Mault headed to Nauset Beach in Orleans early Friday to take pictures of the surf, but he ended up with more than just photos of the crashing waves.

The owner of Orleans Camera & Video captured the moment a surfer realized he was just feet away from a great white shark, its dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water.

Mault said that he’s seen sharks in the water off Cape Cod beaches before, but this is the first time he’s taken a picture of anything like this.

“It was a very chance encounter that I was very fortunate to be there,” he said.


He said he took the photo around 7 a.m. He’d gone to Nauset Beach with the goal of taking photos of the surf being kicked up by Humberto, the storm passing off the coast.

“After doing that for some time, I noticed a surfer suiting up and heading out through the break and I thought at that point I might get some shots of a surfer catching a wave,” Mault said. “Shortly after he got through the wake is when I noticed the wake of the shark.”

Then the dorsal fin “popped up,” he said.

“Shortly thereafter [the surfer] looked over his shoulder and noticed the shark,” the photographer said. “The encounter didn’t last very long, fortunately.”

The surfer quickly made his way back to the beach after spotting the shark.

“It was a very quick encounter that ended up as well as it could be,” Mault said.

Cape Cod officials shared Mault’s photo on social media, reminding the public that it is peak season for white shark activity off the Cape, which will last through October.

“Please remain vigilant,” the Orleans Department of Natural Resources wrote.