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 learned 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 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 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.

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 1^st, 6^th, and 12^th. 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.

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 want to thank the people at the Scituate, Mass. and Quincy, Mass.. Libraries for their help in getting me the 1936 newspaper accounts: Wareham Courier-Boston Sunday Herald-Boston Sunday Globe-Boston Sunday Post-Dorchester Beacon-Boston Sunday Advertiser and
the N.Y.Times

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.

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 25^th 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.) 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 concluded the shark involved was: "a man-eater (Carcharodon carcharias)”.
________________________________________________________________________
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.

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 a white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.

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.

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.

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 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. (So this attack on Alexander Sampson, would have happened after the 1724 date.)

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

White sharks at Chatham, Mass.

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.

                                Photographic proof of white sharks at Chatham.

A tuna spotter pilot 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

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.
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 have been other white shark sightings that have not been reported- how many of them are legitimate, is anyone’s guess.

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 sharks were taken close to shore about 18 miles north of where the spotter pilot saw the white off Chatham.

Should we be concerned?

Fatal shark attacks are few and far between in New England – actually centuries apart.
Statistically we are at the end of a far-between period. In other words, we’re due.
That doesn’t mean it will happen, but if it does; we shouldn’t be surprised.

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