( CNN ) -- The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has tagged two great white sharks off Cape Cod in an area where shark sightings have been reported , state officials said Sunday . A great white shark is tagged Saturday off Cape Cod , Massachusetts . Shark sightings closed nearby beaches . The first tagging Saturday marked the first time a great white shark had been successfully tagged in the Atlantic Ocean off the U.S. coast , the division said in a statement . A second shark was tagged Saturday afternoon , officials said . The taggings took place in the waters near Chatham , Massachusetts , two days after Greg Skomal , shark expert for the Division of Marine Fisheries , reported as many as five large sharks were seen near Monomoy Island , a National Wildlife Refuge off the southern elbow of Cape Cod . The island is about a mile away from Chatham 's Lighthouse Beach , a public swimming area . Chatham 's beaches were closed to swimmers after the sightings , Skomal said . CNN affiliate WCVB reported that all of Chatham 's east-facing beaches were closed after three sharks came within 75 yards of the coastline . Watch who is making money from sharks » . The beaches will be off-limits to swimmers until the middle of the week , officials told WCVB . After the sightings , Skomal and other biologists set out to identify the species , the division statement said . Skomal identified a great white shark on Friday , and then the two were tagged Saturday . `` The tags , which use satellite-based technology to record where a shark travels , allow scientists to better understand migratory patterns , '' the division statement said . Great white sharks are relatively rare in New England , the division statement said , but have been seen feeding near seal colonies . Massachusetts has recorded only four shark attacks since 1670 , two of which were fatal . The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts happened in 1936 . Researchers have also tagged great white sharks off the coast of South Africa .
Taggings of great whites are the first in the Atlantic Ocean , state officials say . Beaches in Chatham , Massachusetts , closed after shark sightings . Comment: Tags will let scientists track the two sharks .