(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.
What are being tagged in the Atlantic Ocean? Where are beaches closed after shark sightings? Have sharks been tagged in the Atlantic before? What is the purpose of the tags? What is the reason for the beach in Chatham, Massachusetts closing? What species taggings are the first in the Atlantic Ocean? What will tags let scientists do?
two great white sharks off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The first tagging Saturday marked the first time a great white record where a shark travels, allow scientists to better understand migratory patterns," Shark sightings great white sharks better understand migratory patterns,"
question: What are being tagged in the Atlantic Ocean?, answer: two great white sharks | question: Where are beaches closed after shark sightings?, answer: off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. | question: Have sharks been tagged in the Atlantic before?, answer: The first tagging Saturday marked the first time a great white | question: What is the purpose of the tags?, answer: record where a shark travels, allow scientists to better understand migratory patterns," | question: What is the reason for the beach in Chatham, Massachusetts closing?, answer: Shark sightings | question: What species taggings are the first in the Atlantic Ocean?, answer: great white sharks | question: What will tags let scientists do?, answer: better understand migratory patterns,"