Shark Species

In coastal New England we have at least 15 shark species.
The dominant large shark species likely to be caught by sport fishers on the north side of Cape Cod will be the blue, porbeagle, mako and thresher.
On the south side of the Cape, there will be those four species, plus an occasional tiger, dusky (protected) and sandbar shark (brown shark), and if you are lucky you might even see a white (protected) or a hammerhead specie, more than likely the smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena.

During the summer basking sharks will be seen everywhere in New England waters, offshore and in shallow water near shore. And yes those pesky dogfish will be everywhere.

Atlantic Angel shark, Squatina dumeril - sometimes called the sand devil - a bottom dwelling, flat, skate like shark. This shark, and its relatives, are exceptional, since they have a longer lower tail than the upper, and their gills are partly on the underside. There are at least 18 species of Angel Sharks around the world.
This is a protected species. Please release it unharmed.

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Atlantic Sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae - A small shark usually under 4 feet and a rare visitor to Mass. Bay. Has scattered white spots on the upper body. Back edge of pectoral fins will have a lighter color. Rarely caught in this area.

Basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus - Plankton eater, common in the New England area. Often mistaken for a white.    "Baskers" will swim in shallow water along our beaches. No shortage of "Baskers" out in Mass. Bay. Some "Baskers" will be in the 30+ foot range.  Now a protected species.

Blue shark, Prionace glauca - The Blue will be discussed extensively later in its own web page. The blues in New England waters are among the largest in the world, and we have plenty of them.

Dusky, Carcharhinus obscurus - has a ridge on its back between dorsals.
The dusky does not venture north of Cape Cod. Small duskys and sandbar sharks of the same size are very hard to tell apart. Both species are on the south side of Cape Cod.
Some people use a magnifying glass to separate sandbars and duskys. They look at the scales. (dermal denticles in shark speak) If the scales overlap; it's a dusky.   If they don't overlap it's a sandbar.
There are 3 additional look alike ridgeback sharks on the East Coast; the silky, bignose and night shark. But they are not seen in coastal New England. So on Cape Cod's south side you only have to deal with two of the ridgeback sharks- the look alike dusky and sandbar sharks.

The IGFA record for a dusky is 764 lbs. and for a sandbar it's 529 lbs. (This 529 lbs seems questionable since a sandbar over 300 lbs would be rare. )

In 1999 the Dusky became a protected species.

Capt. Bill Brown photo of a dusky on the right

Mako, Isurus oxyrinchus. There are two mako species: the shortfin, and the longfin. The shortfin mako, is the one we encounter in all coastal New England waters. The shortfin mako will be discussed extensively later on in a web page devoted to the shortfin mako. The longfin mako, Isurus paucus, is not in New England waters. The longfin is protected, the shortfin mako is not.

Porbeagle, Lamna nasus - This shark may be in New England waters year round. The Porbeagle will be discussed extensively later on, in its own web page. The porbeagle is often mistaken for a mako. The porbeagle has a close relative the salmon shark, Lamna ditropis which is on the West Coast and into Alaska.

**Sandbar shark**, **Carcharhinus plumbeus**
**Max fork length** **7 feet- Max weight 300 lbs.**
Brooks Crozier, fishes the beaches of Nantucket at night for sandbar sharks. This shark was released as are most of his shark catches. Some of the sharks he caught measured 6- 1/2 feet total length; that would be about a 120 pounder.	Sandbars can be caught off the south facing beaches of Cape Cod during the day by surfcasters, as indicated in the picture below. The Dusky, Carcharhinus obscurus, has a ridge on its back also, and is hard to tell apart from the sandbar.

	Left-A free swimming Sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus - Called on Cape Cod the "Brown" shark. Note the tall first dorsal which is well forward; almost over the pectoral fins. The sandbar will have a ridge on its back between the dorsal fins as shown below.

**Sand tiger**, **Carcharias taurus** (**formerly known as Eugomphodus taurus and Odontaspis taurus)**
**Max fork length, 8 feet. - (IGFA record 350 lbs.)**
	Sand Tiger, Carcharias taurus This is the shark you see in Aquariums; like the New England Aquarium in Boston. With so many people now chunk baiting for striped bass on the bottom, a sand tiger occasionally picks up the bait, and is caught in some of the harbors north of Cape Cod. Duxbury, MA - State biologists in 2007 have taken 74 small sandtigers in Duxbury, tagged and released them for study. Small Sand tigers have also been taken at Wollaston Beach ,Quincy, and in the Saugus River. They are definitely making a comeback in the Mass. Bay area while being absent for over 50 years. Sand tigers are now protected and should be released unharmed.
A lot of people just seeing the head shot of a sand tiger mistake it for a mako, because the teeth are somewhat similar looking. The sand tiger has a menacing looking set of mako like teeth, except the sand tiger has projections at the base of its teeth, the mako does not. The eye of a mako is solid black, and not at all like the sand tiger's eye, which has a discernable pupil.	Remember: the sand tiger, Carcharias taurus is a different species than the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus - and the very dangerous tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier.
	The sand tiger is a very *finny* shark since both dorsals, the anal and pelvic fins, are almost all the same size. Also note the long upper tail lobe. Small sand tigers have greenish yellow spots, as indicated in the sketch.

Smooth Dogfish, Mustelis canis - To some this might appear to be a large spiny dogfish. This shark specie grows to 5 feet.
Unlike the spiny dogfish it has an anal fin, and lacks the spines on the dorsal fins. It has a ridge on its back between the first and second dorsal fins. The teeth are flat and not formidable like other shark species.
The smooth dogfish is not related to the dogfish (Squalus acanthias)
The smooth dogfish is also known as the dusky smoothhound.
In 2007 the smooth dogfish has been seen in Mass. Bay coastal areas, and one was sighted by a friend, in Boston Harbor, near Hangman's Island off Wollaston Beach.

Smooth Hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena - People on the south side of Cape Cod have reported seeing hammerheads. There are at least 8 species of Hammerheads. The smooth hammerhead would not have a notch in the center of the head, as would the great hammerhead and the scalloped hammerhead.
Connecticut has a 235 lb hammerhead listed as a state record. My guess is it is a smooth, Sphyrna zygaena, or scalloped hammerhead , Sphyrna lewini, since the chances are better for those two species to make it into southern New England.

I believe it is a smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena for the following
reasons.
1.immediately near the eye is a distinct indentation. This would rule out a great hammerhead.
2. The front of the head is curved and not relatively straight. This would rule out a great hammerhead. Sphyrna mokarran
3.There is no noticeable indentation dead center on the front of the head. This would rule out the
great hammerhead and also the scalloped hammerhead. S. lewini
4. Smooth hammerheads are more likely to be found in our cooler waters than other hammerheads.
5. It was caught in the range of the smooth hammerhead.

Spiny Dogfish, Squalus acanthias - lacks an anal fin, and has spines on its dorsal fins. Considered a nuisance by most fishermen. In the 1990s a commercial fishery increased for dogfish to supply the European market. It helped offset the decline in the cod/haddock stocks. Now the dogfish is considered endangered

Thresher, Alopias vulpinus - The thresher will be discussed extensively later on.

A very easy shark to identify because of it's bizarre long tail.

There are two additional species of thresher which are not in coastal New England waters. They are the bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosis and the pelagic thresher, Alopias pelagicus

If you catch a thresher in New England it is most certainly Alopias vulpinus.

Tiger, Galeocerdo cuvier

- One of the top three sharks involved in fatal attacks on people. (Bulls, Whites and Tigers)

Tigers occasionally make it to the south side of Cape Cod.

Tigers are one of the largest sharks. (whale, basking, white, greenland shark, megamouth shark and tiger)

The IGFA record for the Tiger is 1,780 lbs.

Photo by Tom Burns

Last but not least in our list of New England shark species, is the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias -
Now the most famous shark in the world, thanks to the movie "JAWS". Not many around on the East Coast but they do show up occasionally in New England waters. This is a protected species. I put in a page devoted to this shark later on in the website.