White
Sharks in New England
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Man-eater!
That was the common
name used for centuries to describe the shark species, Carcharodon
carcharias.
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From the 1975 movie "JAWS"
Mayor Vaughn: "And what did you say the name of this shark is?"
Hooper: "It's a Carcharodon
carcharias. It's a Great White."
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The 1975 Movie JAWS made the words
"great white" and “white shark” popular
with the public, and “man-eater” is rarely used today.
That common word change to "great white" or "white shark" helped in getting Carcharodon
carcharias to
become a prohibited species. It’s
a lot easier to get support to protect a “white shark,” than it would be to
protect a “man-eater”.
The other common names used to describe this species such as “white
shark", “white pointer” “great white shark’ and “white death”
seems to have come into popular usage because Carcharodon carcharias
shows so much white on the belly and sides. The white on the sides abruptly
changes to the topside color, without the usual transitional area seen on many
other shark species.
In the past, books and articles on sharks, attributed a white sharks
maximum length to be 30 feet or more.
Those claims have been debunked by using today’s methods of
investigation. The largest of
the whites are generally 16-19 feet long over-all, and would weigh between
2,500-5,500 pounds. Today,
estimates still persist of whites around 26 feet long, based on bites taken out
of whale carcasses. Although some recent claims of whites that size and longer
have been made, no whites anywhere near 26 feet or more have been verified.
Realistically, 22 feet is about maximum for this species.
This is a shark that is found
in many places around the world. Whites
tolerate a wider range of water temperatures than most other shark species. They
are able to swim and function in water temperatures between the lower 40s and 80
degrees. This means they
could spend most of the year in our New England waters, and a hardy specimen
could be here in mid -winter.
Larger
whites eat marine mammals in addition to eating fish; they will also scavenge
whale carcasses on the surface and on the bottom.
They are considered to be primarily daytime hunters.
Biologists tell us white sharks can go more than a month between
feedings-if necessary. I am sure if the pickings were easy, they would eat more
often than that.
I
decided to check on the white shark feeding interval, and here is an e-mail
exchange between me and others on a shark list.
"Hi Everyone There are people on this list who have spent enough time
with white sharks to tell one from another.
In other words recognize them as individuals.
My question is, "What is the shortest time between SUCCESSFUL feedings of
an individual shark have you witnessed?" - Tom
I
got this answer from Sean R. Van Sommeran, Executive Director/CEO, The Pelagic
Shark Research Foundation in California.
(ANI is most
likely Sean's abbreviation for Ano Nuevo Island, in California.)
"There is one shark we know from ANI that was involved in at least 3 seal
predations within a span of less than 30 days, mind you
this 30 day window involved an observer and site presence (boatbased) of about
4-7 hours per day (sun up til it gets choppy/windy) and a
few days were scrubbed due to rough spells during this time frame.
The shark is an adult female est at 5meters, we saw her feeding on
all three occasions. taking 3 to 8 bites respectively,(30-80lbs?).
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There
was not much public interest in sharks until …”JAWS"…
The 1975
movie “JAWS” portrayed the white shark as a terrifying creature. It
caused anxiety among many of the movie goers-especially those who swim
in the ocean. The public was told the inspiration for "Jaws" was the
series of real-life fatal shark attacks in New Jersey in 1916.
Books and articles came out after the movie describing those
gruesome New Jersey shark attacks. The combination of "Jaws", its
sequels, and the details of the 1916 attacks, especially the last two
fatal attacks which occurred in an unlikely place, a salt water tidal creek
at Mattawan, New Jersey, made anxious-people feel they weren’t
safe from a white shark attack anywhere in salt water. The movie
"JAWS", made
the white shark a household word and now it is the most famous
shark in the world pulling ahead of the Tiger, Galeocerdo cuvier.
June 21, 2005
- A North East Fisheries Science Center flight
investigating a report of a floating whale carcass about 20 miles SE
of Block Is., discovers a
white shark approx 16 feet long feasting on the carcass,
and photographs it from
the air. This occurred at Coxes ledge which is roughly
20 miles SE of Block Is. Part of the minke whale carcass can
be seen in the upper left. I thank Pete Duley for making the photos available to us.
Fatal New England
Shark attacks.
What are the facts about fatal attacks here in New
England?
The
top three shark species involved in fatal attacks around the world are
the white, Carcharodon carcharias, the tiger,
Galeocerdo cuvier, and the bull shark, Carcharhinus
leucas.
Two of those species, the white and tiger, are definitely in New
England waters.
Bull sharks would be a rare visitor to southern New England,
and are not really a factor.
We have other shark species in New England capable of inflicting
serious wounds on people such as the blue shark, Prionace glauca,
and the shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, and a few more; but
the white would be the first suspect in a fatal-attack anywhere in New
England, especially one occurring close to shore.
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First
a little background that illustrates the lack of knowledge about
sharks that persisted well into the 1900s - actually not much was
learned about sharks until after WWII.
Along
the New Jersey coast in 1916, four swimmers were killed and another
swimmer was injured in shark attacks on July 1st, 6th,
and 12th. Those
attacks are purported to be the inspiration for the movie JAWS.
The
shark experts in 1916 should have worn dunce caps when they made
public statements about those shark attacks.
Prior
to, and after those attacks, some of the leading experts didn’t
believe sharks would make an unprovoked attack on people, or that
sharks had the jaw strength to do the damage those victims suffered.
They also believed that shark attacks would not happen in the
cooler water north of Cape Hatteras.
The
1916 shark attacks were initially blamed on other sea creatures,
like a turtle, tuna, killer whale or swordfish, before it became painfully obvious
they were in fact, shark attacks-a conclusion a Kansas farmer who
never saw a shark, or the ocean, might have reached quicker than the
so-called shark experts of that day.
Whites
range throughout New England, albeit in small numbers. Tiger sharks
are mainly south of Cape Cod and not many of them. The Maine coast has seen its share of sharks, but I
cannot find a record of any shark caused fatalities there. The northernmost East Coast shark episode resulting in a
death was up in northeast Nova Scotia, near Fourchu,
Cape Breton Island. It happened July
9, 1953. A
shark estimated to be about 12 feet long, knocked
lobstermen John
MacLeod and John Burns overboard; and
put a hole in their dory, and then swam away. John MacLeod survived
by clinging to the swamped dory. John Burns drowned while trying to
swim to shore.
A
tooth fragment imbedded in the dory planking identified the shark as
a white, Carcharodon carcharias.
Rhode
Island
July 11,1895- Noyes Point
A group of railroad engineers were having their annual fishing trip
outing. They went out on the steam yacht Helen May Butler.
At 5 Am several small skiffs were launched for fishing.
Charles Beattie, age 26, and Andrew Taft were in one of the skiffs.
Charles Beattie dove overboard for a swim but was seen to be in
distress when he was on the surface. Taft threw him an oar and dove
overboard to assist Beattie. Taft
tried to pull Beattie back to the skiff but something had a hold of
Beattie and pulled him under.
Because there had been previous shark activity in that area-a 400 lb
shark taken a few days earlier at Sabin's Point- many felt it was a
shark that pulled Beattie under. (I would appreciate any more info
on this event if you have it. - tom)
I thank Christopher Moore from England for info on this event.
The
following is information on 3 fatal shark attacks
- all occurred in Massachusetts waters.
I will start with the most recent and go back to the earlier
attacks.
Joseph Troy Jr. of
Dorchester Mass. age, 16,
July 25, 1936
Attacked
at Hollywood Beach,
Mattapoisett,
Massachusetts
Sources for the 1936 Joseph Troy
Jr. attack at Mattapoisett:
American
Midland Naturalist, E.W.Gudger- Nov.1950,
and
from the following 1936 newspapers:
Wareham Courier July 31, -
Boston Sunday Herald July 26 - Boston Sunday Globe July 26 -
Boston Sunday Post July 26 - Dorchester Beacon Aug. 1 -
Boston Sunday Advertiser July 26 and the N.Y.Times July
26.
Also I thank the anonymous source that sent me very
detailed information
Full
story below. |
 I
thank the people at the libraries in Scituate, Mass. (Susan
Frankel), Quincy, Mass. (Linda Beeler) and Boston Mass. (Henry
Scannell) for their help in getting me the 1936 newspaper
accounts
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Joseph
Troy Jr. The last fatal shark attack in New England.
An attitude of “shark attacks can’t happen up here” would
have been prevalent along the beaches of New England in 1936.
Hardly anyone would have known about the 1830 attack on Mr.
Blaney in Massachusetts Bay. For that matter most people
wouldn’t have knowledge of the fatal July 1916 shark attacks
in New Jersey either. Many people didn't learn about the 1916
fatal attacks in New Jersey until after the movie "JAWs"
came out in 1975.
In
1936 Joseph Troy Jr. was 16 years old and living in the
Dorchester section of Boston.
He went to visit his uncle Fred,
who had a summer home in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts on Buzzards
Bay.
On
July 25th Troy and Walter Stiles, a friend of
Troy’s uncle, were
swimming off Hollywood Beach, Mattapoisett, near Aucoot Cove,
about 150 yards offshore in 10- 15 feet of water. (The
newspaper accounts spell Walter’s last name as, S-t-y-l-e-s. Dr. Hugh M. Smith former Director of the U.S. Bureau of
Fisheries who investigated this 1936 shark attack, uses S-t-i-l-e-s
in his investigative report.)
Between 3 and 4 PM, Stiles saw a shark suddenly appear next to
Troy. The shark
grabbed Troy by the left leg and pulled him underwater. Stiles
was about 10 feet away and went to Troys assistance; diving down
to try to help him. Ultimately
he was able to get hold of Troy when the unconscious boy
surfaced in a pool of blood.
Stiles started towing Troy to shore while shouting for help. It
appeared at first that people thought it was a hoax. Then they
realized something was wrong, and thinking it was a possible
drowning they telephoned for a local doctor. A shark attack is
the last thing any bystander would expect to have happened.
Mr. Herbert Fisher responded to Stiles cries for help, and rowed
over to assist him. Fisher
and Stiles got a good close-up look at the shark, which was
still there, just a few yards away in the bloody water.
Their descriptive testimony to Dr. Hugh Smith, who
investigated the attack, would later determine the size- and the
attacking specie.
Fisher helped Stiles in getting Troy into the
boat, and rowed them to shore.
Dr. Irving Tilden arrived;
put Joseph in a car, and rushed him to St. Lukes Hospital in New
Bedford, about 12 miles away.
The femoral artery had not
been severed, but Troy’s left leg was mangled.
A surgeon had finished amputating Troy’s leg; when
Joseph’s condition worsened. Joseph passed away about 8:30 PM
that evening.
Since this attack happened on the south side of Cape Cod, the
usual suspects would be a white, or possibly, but not likely, a
tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier.
Walter Stiles, who was swimming with Troy, and Herbert Fisher
who rowed over to help them, both told Dr. Hugh Smith that the
shark was about 10-12 feet long. That established the length of
the shark.
Stiles said the white sides abruptly changed to the top color,
and the shark had an almost symmetrical tail. (Both of those
observations are characteristics of a white shark, and not
characteristics of a tiger shark.) Dr.
Irving Tilden who transported Troy to the hospital, testified
that the victims “skin edges were serrated as if cut off by a
toothed object.”
Dr. Hugh M.
Smith,
former Director of the U.S. Bureau of
Fisheries,
concluded the shark
involved was: "a man-eater (Carcharodon carcharias)”.
From
[Bigelow and
Schroeder, 1948 p. 134.] - A fatal attack
on a swimmer at Mattapoisett, on Buzzards Bay, on July 25, 1936,
may also have been by a man-eater, though in this case the shark
was driven away without being identified.
What Bigelow and Schroeder did not know
in 1948, was that the attack on Joseph Troy had been
investigated in 1936 by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, former
Director of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries.
Dr Smith did the investigation at the request of E.W.Gudger-who
was working at the American Museum of Natural History in New
York City.
Dr.
Smith gave his report to E.W Gudger in 1936, but the
report gathered dust until it was published by E.W.Gudger in the
American Midland Naturalist, - Nov.1950.
Today,
EMTs are quickly on the scene-
especially
with prompt cell phone calls being made from the location asking
for help. If that shark attack on Joseph Troy Jr. happened
today, I believe he would have survived; mainly because his femoral
artery in the mangled leg was not severed.
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1830
Mass Bay Shark Attack
I will
attempt to put the story in perspective from newspaper articles
from the 1830s, and from other sources.
Remember
this event took place in 1830.
If you went fishing then, it was by sailing or by rowing. It
was the horse and buggy days. No electricity. Very little was known about sharks in
that period. And not a big population around.
Locally, in the 1830s era, common folk didn’t have a name for
what we call now a white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.
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I thank Mark
Parkinson for alerting me to this fatal attack which took place in
Mass Bay, 5 miles
east of Scituate in 1830.
Brian Best
from the Swampscott Historical Commission supplied me with a
tremendous amount of information and I thank him for that.
Jackie from
the Antiquarian society helped me finalize the date of the
attack to
Monday, July 12, 1830
The
fishermen and newspapers in 1830 called white sharks
as "man - eaters" or "basking sharks" Basking shark was probably a generalization of any large shark
they saw cruising on the surface.
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Here is the
story below that I pieced together, based on the articles from
the 1830 newspapers: the Boston Gazette-Essex Register - Salem Gazette- Lynn Record - Eastern Argus- and the Baltimore (Md.) Patriot.
The
1830 shark attack story
The next fatal attack in 1830 on Mr. Blaney is
quite a saga; and is material for a Hollywood movie.
In 1830 the people
were living a very basic lifestyle.
There was no electricity, no automobiles, and not much
machinery to make life easier. These
were the horse and wagon days, the days of wooden ships and iron
men.
On Monday, July 12, 1830, Capt.
Nathaniel Blanchard, his father in law Mr. Joseph Blaney, a Mr.
Stone and Mr. Proctor, sailed the schooner Finback from
the Swampscott section of Lynn, Massachusetts, and anchored 5
miles east of Scituate. (Swampscott is north of Boston and
Scituate is south of Boston, a sail of about 20 miles.)
Mr.
Blaney, age 52, took a small dory and rowed away from the
schooner about a half-mile, and was fishing alone. After
a few hours went by, Mr. Blaney was heard shouting for help and
was seen waving his hat - and apparently one of his arms was
injured. Another
fishing schooner, which was closer to Blaney dispatched a boat
to help him. While they were rowing toward Blaney, they
saw a large fish lying across his dory amidships. The
fish ended up back in the water. Blaney's dory was
still afloat, and Blaney was still onboard. So far, so
good, but that would be short lived.
Essex Register, July 15, 1830-“But
before the boat which went to his assistance had reached him,
the shark renewed his attack, the boat instantly disappeared,
and the water appeared in a foam. Nothing more was seen of
Mr. Blaney, but the boat reappeared, and was picked up, together
with his hat...” “
The boat was uninjured excepting that her thole pins (oar
locks) were all broken, and there were scratches about her,
as if made by the rough skin of a shark.
There was no doubt
amongst the crews of the two vessels who witnessed the whole
scene, that Mr. Blaney was destroyed by the shark. “
Can you imagine the human emotions, when Captain Blanchard
returns to Swampscott with Mr. Blaney’s hat, and tells
his wife Alice, about her father’s death-and no body
available for burial. Talk
about a bad day of fishing.
But this story is not over.
Capt. Blanchard, with
a crew including at least one of Mr. Blaney’s sons, returned
to the area where Mr. Blaney was killed.
If the shark is still there, they want to catch it. Amazingly Capt. Blanchard and crew, encounter 2 white sharks.
They told the newspapers that they used a half-inch rope,
and a hook with mackerel, and other fish, to bait the sharks.
They caught one of the two sharks, and managed to get it
onboard the schooner; probably by using a block and tackle to
hoist it onboard.
But they weren’t prepared for the second shark, which
was much larger. They baited the second shark that was estimated
by them to be about 16 feet long. After the shark was
brought alongside, they realized it couldn’t be lifted
onboard. That size white would weigh about 2,500 - 3000 pounds.
They killed the shark, and cut it loose.
The shark they managed to get onboard was brought back to
Swampscott; it ended up on exhibition in Boston for a 12-1/2
cent admission fee.
Boston Gazette 1830- “Sharks! A basking shark. (called
by some a man eater) is now on exhibition”.................
“The shark now exhibited has two rows of sharp serrated
teeth in the lower jaw and one row in the upper jaw. Its mouth
is large enough to take in a common sized man-its skin dark and
rough as a rasp.”
1700s
fatal shark attack, Boston Harbor
I
thank Charles Stockler for e- mailing me info on this attack.
Finding
out what happened in this attack in the 1700s is more difficult
than getting information on the 1830 and 1936 shark attacks
mentioned above. This story pre-dates the founding of our
country.
A fatal attraction in the 1700s.
. Here
is the basic story:
In Boston there was, and still is, a
well know family the Shattucks.
One of the members, Rebecca Shattuck married Alexander
Sampson around the year 1724, when she was not quite 14 years of
age. As best I can determine Alexander Sampson was about
24 years old. It appears they had 3 children the last one being
born in 1731 so the attack would be after 1730. (Any Genealogists
out there care to give me some input.)
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Excerpt: From the (Memorials of The
Descendants of William Shatttuck; Lemuel Shattuck; Dutton
and Wentworth, Boston, 1855. Page 106)
"Mr. Sampson is said to have been a
reputable gentleman from London, who had visited this
country for the benefit of his health, with an intention
of a speedy return; but meeting with the beautiful Miss
Shattuck, her attractions were too irresistible to allow
him to carry out his purpose. He married and remained
here; but while upon a pleasure excursion in Boston
harbor, his boat was attacked by a shark, and he was
tipped overboard and devoured."
If this happened as stated, the suspect would
be a white shark. The Boston area is white shark
territory. Whites also have a history of attacking small
boats. If you have any info on this situation or
other shark information, I would appreciate getting it for
the website.
Charles Stocker who e- mailed me the info,
speculates it is also possible Rebecca remarried an
Alexander Sampson and her first husband who died in the
shark attack had a different name.
(There was another Alexander Sampson around in
that period of time and he appears to be a descendent of
the "Mayflower" group) - Tom
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White sharks at Chatham,
Mass. |
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So
what about white sharks today?
Seeing a white shark in
New England is rare only because they are few in numbers,
and not because they would be a stray visitor. New England is in their normal range and we should expect
them to be here - and they are. They may be on the
increase. In the last 8 years reports started to
come in on a regular basis about shark sightings off the
growing seal colony at Chatham, Mass. I received
some very descriptive e- mails from various sources,
recounting what they saw there - seals being attacked by a
large fish. This is one indicator of a white shark
presence. Eyewitness
stories of shark predations on seals started to show up in
the newspapers and on
Television.
But could it be other species such as makos, tiger sharks
or killer whales involved in these Chatham seal
predations?
Biologists familiar with sharks, inspected some of the
mutilated seal carcasses that washed ashore there, and
deemed some to be the result of marauding white shark
predations.
Below-
a seal carcass at Chatham, Mass.
From "JAWS": Hooper: "Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn't any
propeller; and it wasn't any coral reef; and it wasn't
Jack the Ripper! It was a shark!"
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Photographic proof of white sharks at Chatham.
A tuna spotter pilot Wayne Davis, returning to Chatham airport on Labor
Day weekend 2008, spotted a large shark about 200 yds or
less off the beach. This was an experienced spotter pilot
who realized it was not a basking shark; he turned around
and went back for a better look. After observing the
shark, he determined it was a white shark; and took
several photos. Marine biologists later
examined the photos and identified it as a white shark. I
saw one of those photos; and it was indeed a white,
Carcharodon carcharias.
The spotter pilot called a Cape Cod Newspaper and told
them about the sighting, and told them that he had
photographic proof that it was a white shark.
Here is part of his e-mail to me: “I
reported it to the (newspaper) and they said they weren't
interested 'cuz they'd done a few stories this summer
already about people witnessing shark on seal attacks
around Chatham. I thought the (newspaper) response
was very strange, not only 'cuz I had a photo to go with
the report, but because there were 6-10 surfers less than
a mile south of the shark....& the shark was swimming
SOUTH.”
Strange indeed. I wonder if you called a local
newspaper and told them of a local unusual car accident
that had just occurred and that you were an eyewitness,
and had photos; if they would say they weren't interested
in the story, because they'd done a few stories already
about previous automobile accidents.
I suspect we have life imitating art on Cape Cod.
Remember the scene in “Jaws” where Mayor Vaughn is
concerned about the Police Chief Martin Brody panicking
the beachgoers with shark talk.
"Martin, it's all psychological. You yell barracuda,
everybody says, "Huh? What?" You yell shark,
we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of
July." Only in this case it was Labor Day weekend
2008.
| A white
shark cruises the murky waters close to the beach at
Chatham, Mass. on Labor Day Weekend 2008.
There was a group of 6-12 surfers in the direction
this shark was swimming. If you were surfing at
Chatham on Sunday August 31, 2008 you might have seen this
shark .....or been seen by this shark. - Tom |
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I talked by
telephone to a kayaker who had a close encounter
with a seal predation at Monomoy on Saturday morning
August 15, 2009.
He told me the fin he saw looked just like the white
shark fins shown on this site.
(Three weeks later, 12 whites would be seen in that
area, and 5 would be tagged by State biologists.)
Here is an excerpt from the Cape Cod
Times:
CHATHAM – State
officials are on the lookout for a seal carcass
after kayakers headed for Monomoy Island
reported seeing a shark attack one of the
pinnipeds over the weekend.
Bruce Bean and his
friend Rod MacKinnon, who both have homes on the
Cape, were kayaking from Chatham to Monomoy
Saturday morning at about 8:45 when they heard a
large splash near a sand bar about a quarter
mile south of the break in front of the Chatham
Lighthouse, Bean said yesterday.
The two men followed a
prearranged plan in case of a shark sighting,
rafting their kayaks together to appear larger,
Bean said. After the seal and shark disappeared
the two men paddled away from the bloody water
and continued on their trip. -snip
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A shark slowly cruising along at just half of our walking
speed could easily cover 40 or more miles in a day;
therefore any whites seen in one location could easily
show up many miles away a day or so later. Satellite
tagged white sharks show they can cover 75 miles in day
while moving from one area to another.
There is plenty
of recent evidence of whites being seen in other areas
around New England. In (2008) a 7 foot white
washed ashore on Nantucket.
There are photos of whites feeding on whale
carcasses or just cruising along offshore, and inshore
along the New England coast.
And of course we remember the celebrity white shark
called “Gretel” that was stranded for a while
in
the Lackey Bay estuary near Naushon Island off Woods Hole
in late September 2004. That location is about 9
miles south of where Joseph Troy Jr. was attacked in 1936.
The Mass. Div. of Marine Fisheries
Shark Research program has kept records of reported white
shark sightings since 1987.
Most of the sightings submitted, and
investigated, turned out to be basking sharks - as
would be expected.
In
2008 they have confirmed 5 white shark sightings out
of 19 reported. There
must have been other white shark sightings that have not been
reported.
In coastal areas whites tend to swim near the bottom -
unless something on the surface gets their attention.
There have been several accidental catches of
white sharks in Massachusetts Bay, and off Cape Cod, in
the last 12 years involving bottom set fishing gear. The
most recent that I know of were a 12-foot white in October
2007, and one approx. 18 feet long on November 24, 2007.
(I’ve seen the photos of that 18 footer.) Both white sharks
were taken close to shore about 18 miles north of where
the spotter pilot saw the white off Chatham.
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Although
none of the fatal attacks mentioned above involved seals, there have been many white shark attacks
on people around the world, where seals and seal colonies
were a factor.
Seals are becoming a factor here in New
England, especially on Cape Cod, where the seal population
has greatly increased.
Since white sharks do kill and eat
seals, and we are about the same size as a seal; if you
are in the water with the seals, or near them, bad things
can happen – bad things have happened, and will continue
to happen. Let’s face it.
Sharks happen!
In 1997 the white shark became a prohibited species to help
increase their depleted numbers.
If the white sharks make a comeback, expect more
whites in the New England area. After all, they
belong here, this is their territory, and their territory
begins when the salt water gets above your
knees. ~~~Capt. Tom King
White
sharks tagged at Chatham, Mass. September, 2009
The tags used were Pop-up
Satellite Archival Transmitting Tags (PSAT)
The
tags are programmed to release in 2010.
Two
pop-up tags are expected to release in mid January, one in
mid February, one in mid March and one the first of
May. This should give information on the travels of those
tagged sharks. Stay tuned.
How
the Chatham white sharks were spotted and tagged.
Sept. 2, 2009- Pilot
George Breen spots two large sharks off Monomoy. (Chatham
Mass.)
The sharks were later identified that day by Mass. Senior
Fisheries biologist Dr. Greg Skomal as white sharks.
Sept 5, 2009 - State biologists Dr. Greg Skomal ,
John Chisholm and fishermen Billy Chaprales and Nick
Chaprales were able to get pop- up tags into two white
sharks off Chatham close to shore. A third much
larger white about 15 feet long eluded the tagging
after they followed it in shallow water for hours.
Spotter
pilot George Breen assisted them in locating the sharks.
Sept. 8, 2009: Three
more white sharks were tagged at Chatham, including
a 15 footer, bringing
the total to 5 tagged sharks. There were no more pop-up
tags available after the 5 were used up.
Sept.10,
2009 There are at least seven more, and
possibly nine more untagged sharks at
Monomoy bringing the total to 12 -14 different white
sharks that were in the same area off Monomoy. Two
of the untagged sharks are 15 feet or larger.
Excerpt-
March 3, 2010 DMF tag update:
BOSTON - March 3, 2010 - State marine
biologists have tracked three electronic tags placed on
white sharks in waters off Cape Cod last September to the
coast of North Florida, providing clues to the migration
path to wintering grounds and other habits of these top
marine predators, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)
Secretary Ian Bowles said today.
The first tag - which was placed on a 12-foot
long shark - surfaced on January 15, 50 miles east of
Jacksonville, Florida and began transmitting data. Two weeks
later, the second tag - which was placed on a 10-foot
long shark - surfaced on February 4, 30 miles north of
where the first tag appeared. A third tag appeared off the
coast of Florida, 80 miles south of the first two tags, on
Monday, March 1.
During their southern migration, the white sharks
remained on the continental shelf and continued to traverse
the water column, an area that stretches from the surface to
the bottom, on an almost daily basis. By mid- to late
October, they were off the coast of North Carolina. The
first tags to surface indicate that two of the sharks
arrived off the coast of northern Florida by early December,
and remained in this region until their tags jettisoned.
Although the sharks moved between the surface and the
bottom, the sharks spent more than 90 percent of their time
at depths less than 150 feet. The white sharks moved
through water that ranged from 7 degrees to 27 degrees
Celsius (45-81°F), but spent more than 80 percent of their
time in waters with moderate temperatures, ranging from 15
degrees to 23 degrees Celsius (59-73°F).
One of the sharks exhibited a deviation from this
pattern when it entered the Gulf Stream off North Carolina
for 10 days in early November and exhibited daily dives to
depths as great as 1,500 feet. During this time, the shark
moved off the continental shelf and through water that was
7.4 degrees to 27.6 degrees Celsius as it dove to these
great depths.
The purpose of the deep diving behavior exhibited by
one of the sharks remains a mystery, but such behavior is
typical of white sharks off the Pacific Coast. With two
additional tags scheduled to pop up in the coming months,
the scientists are hopeful that more insights into the life
history and ecology of these sharks and their movements in
the North Atlantic are forthcoming.....
I
talked to spotter pilot Norm St.
Pierre. He told me on Thanksgiving day or
thereabouts he had a friend up showing him Cape
Cod from the air. They were flying over
Peaked Hill,
Provincetown, watching some whales, when Norm
spotted a white shark relatively close to shore.
Norm went in low and got a good look at the shark.
It was about 10-12 feet long and had a satellite
tag attached. Undoubtedly one of the 5
white sharks tagged 40 miles south of Peaked Hill
off Monomoy, Chatham in early September
2009.
(Based on what Norm told me, I would guess the
tagged 10-12 foot white shark was probably
around
Lat. 42-06 and Long. 70-07)
The shark seen at Peaked Hill is not one of the
first two white sharks that released
their tags 50 miles east of Jacksonville Florida in mid
January, and in early February. Data from
those two tags show that those sharks were not in
our area when the tagged shark was spotted off
Peaked Hill at Thanksgiving time.
When the 3rd tag is plotted, it will be interesting to see
if it was the same shark that was at Peaked Hill on
Thanksgiving. That information should be available around
mid March. - Tom
Below
are some great photos of the tagging operation; shot by
spotter pilot Wayne Davis.
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Stay tuned for
morMore white shark
info below.e tagging
info. - tom
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On Aug. 18, 1996, the gill-netter Jean B accidentally snared this
white in its bottom set gillnet in Mass Bay. The white was loaded into the boat in
the photo to the left.
As characteristic of the Lamnidae family sharks, notice the flattened flared out body
section just as the body joins the tail, and the very small second dorsal.
(For this web page I would appreciate any other pictures of this white or any other New
England whites that you might have.)
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Great White Shark Landed in Beverly Partial Excerpt from
Mass. DMF Vol. 16, Dec 1996
In a summer that had its share of unusual weather and fishing, the catch that perhaps made
the biggest splash was the 18 foot Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that was
brought into Beverly Harbor on August 18th. It has been a strange year for sharks
off Massachusetts. This great white capped off a summer that included catches of sand
tiger sharks in both
Salem Harbor and Hingham Bay and a world record blue shark caught off Martha's Vineyard.
This remarkable shark was landed by Richard and Michael Birarelli on the Jean B. after
finding it entangled in their dogfish gillnet about 10 miles outside of Salem Sound.
Presumably, it was caught accidentally and "drowned" because it was unable to
swim freely and respire. Biologists from DMF's Cat Cove Marine Laboratory identified the
shark based on its pointed dorsal
fin, mottled gray and white coloration, widely spaced triangular teeth, and above all,
large size. Landing a great white of this size in the western North Atlantic is highly
unusual.
Recognizing the opportunity to collect valuable biological samples, the crew of the Jean
B. allowed DMF biologists to dissect the shark. The National Marine Fisheries Service Apex
Predator and DMF's Shark Research Programs provided sampling instructions. Biological
samples have been collected from fewer than 10 adult white sharks in the western North
Atlantic.
DMF's biologists disassembled the huge shark in front of hundreds of onlookers. Camera
crews and journalists from many local TV networks and newspapers came by to publicize this
unusual event. Examination of the white shark's stomach may have been the crowd's
favorite. A 31 pound harbor porpoise, remains of two dogfish, and a rock crab were in the
stomach.
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I have seen only one white in Mass.
Bay, (around 1990.) The white came to the surface and swam close by the stern
of our boat; looked us over and left. Two hours later we got a radio call from
another boat a few miles north, they were unaware we had made that sighting. They
had a similar encounter. We both agreed the white was about 14 feet
long.
Large whites besides eating fish ,are marine mammal eaters, and it was probably looking for a
whale carcass, and came over to check out our drifting boats. The color of the white shark to me appeared to be a medium brownish gray, a
much lighter color than the mako. The outline of the whites’ body shape was easier
for me to make out in the water than that of the mottled basking shark. We see
baskers almost on a daily basis while offshore shark fishing. This white swam close
by the corner of the cockpit and we were eye to eye. It swam at about our
walking speed, with the dorsal out of the water. The dorsal had a ragged back edge,
which curved slightly inward. The top point on the dorsal fin was closer to the
tail than the tops of the mako's and porbeagle's dorsals. (I notice things like
that.)
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White Shark Stats.
| Fork length in feet |
Weight in pounds |
| 16 |
3,300 |
| 15 |
2,700 |
| 14 |
2,175 |
| 13 |
1,725 |
| 12 |
1,350 |
| 11 |
1,025 |
| 10 |
775 |
| Fork length in feet |
Weight in pounds |
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 Excerpt from the book;
Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids and Frank. by Skip DeBrusk
When asked "What's the biggest shark you have ever seen?"
Eddie Fairweather on the left responds.
"A twelve hundred pound white," Eddie said. "When I was
on the gill netter Geraldine and Phyllis . February 1938,
one of the coldest days of the winter ,we were four miles east of the
Gurnet and this crazy damn shark got all tangled up in our gear, God
what a mess!"
Notice the cold weather clothing worn by the people on the pier.
Remember whites aren't just warm water sharks. They have a
temperature range that is wider than most other sharks.
White Shark Photo courtesy of Skip DeBrusk -
http://www.skipdebrusk.com/
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Thanks to Skip DeBrusk I finally got to meet Eddie
Fairweather the commercial fisherman who caught the white
shark in his gill net in. February 1938. Picture above on
left.
The fish was taken 4 miles east of Gurnet Point, Plymouth Mass.
Eddie told me it weighed 1,200 lbs .
The price of cod then was 5 cents a pound, and the shark was sold
for 1 cent a pound.
He got $12 for the shark.
As you can see by Eddie's sweatshirt he still had spunk.
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The large triangular
serrated teeth will easily separate the white shark from other sharks
in the New England area. ( Bull sharks, Carcharhinus
leucas, and Oceanic whitetips Carcharhinus
longimanus, have triangular serrated upper teeth, but
bulls and whitetips are not in the coastal New England
area.
Effective April 2 nd. 1997 The National Marine Fisheries Service
established some protection for the white shark, Carcharodon
carcharias. If you catch one on rod and
reel; it must be released unharmed. (Now if we could only get them to
release us, Homo sapiens , unharmed.)
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Compare the dorsal of
this
Massachusetts white shark
with the dorsal of the basking
shark below. |
| White
Shark Dorsal
courtesy of
Pelagic Shark Research
Foundation/D. Casper
Note: some individual white sharks can have
dorsals that may look slightly different from the one
pictured. - Tom
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Basking
Shark
Dorsal
Courtesy of
Bob Jenkins
localhookerrods.com/ |
On
September 23, 2004 I got a call from a friend who
told me a white shark was inside the Lackey Bay estuary,
between
Naushon Island and Nonamesset Island, which is near
Woods Hole Mass. |
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This is a great photo by
Mike Leon, it is "life
imitating art.."
Remember the lines from
Jaws.
"Shark! The shark!.
He's going into the
pond! The Shark is in
the estuary!"
That's not to far fetched
when you see this end of
September, 2004 photo.
The shark is in the estuary.
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Great white shark leaves Cape Cod lagoon
By Associated Press
Monday, October 4, 2004
FALMOUTH, Mass. - The 15-foot great white shark that patrolled a Cape Cod
lagoon for nearly two weeks finally left for open waters Monday.
The 1,700-pound female shark swam through the inlet between Naushon and
Monohansett islands and into open ocean early Monday afternoon.
The state's Division of Marine Fisheries had tried for days to coax the
shark out of the lagoon, stringing a series of nets and electronic repellant
devices in the water.
The shark was first spotted Sept. 21 near Naushon Island, off the
southwestern coast of Cape Cod.
Scientists attached an archival satellite tag to the shark's dorsal fin,
marking the first time a great white has been outfitted with such a
device.
Scores of boaters visited the lagoon to see the shark, prompting officials
to cordon off the immediate area in hopes of keeping gawkers at bay for
their own safety and the shark's.
update; Unfortunately the satellite tag, which was programmed
to release
in 6 months and float to the surface, and transmit information on the
sharks
6 months travel, prematurely released, and the information will not be obtained.
- Tom
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Range of the White shark, Carcharodon
carcharias
 Very few whites are seen or
taken in offshore longlining operations. This would seem to
indicate whites are primarily a coastal shark, cruising within the continental shelves, as indicated in this
sketch of their range.
But it might also be that the size of the white may be to big for
the long line gear to hold.
There is no doubt they are also out on the
open ocean.
Recent studies using satellite transmitters attached to whites show they will travel well
offshore. "One adult male shark swam all the way from the California coast to the
warm waters off Hawaii, a journey of some 2,280 miles."
A white shark was tracked from South Africa all the way to
Australia and then back again to South Africa. The round trip distance
was about 20,000 kilometers or approx 12,000 miles. (I thank Andrew
Nieuwmeyer for getting me this information. Go to http://whitesharktrust.co.za/migration.html
for
detailed information on this white shark tracking.)
A lot has yet to be
learned about all sharks, including whites. The larger whites are primarily marine
mammal eaters. Since the prey of the white, (marine mammals) stays close to
shore, a hunting white occasionally encounters another mammal close to shore,
Homo sapiens, frolicking in the shallow water.
dah..dum..dah.dum..dahdum.dahdumdahdumdahdum.
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Return to Home Page
| I thank Ben Fabry for this great video
of an approaching Basker in Mass. Bay. It goes right
under his boat on Tuesday August 22, 2006. Look at
the white shark above in the picture and when you see the video
you can understand why baskers are often mistaken for
whites. Click on
the following link to view the video. Mass. bay shark Movie.wmv |
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