Capt. Tom's Guide to New England Sharks   Updated August 14, 2008    - Scituate, Massachusetts   e-mail  me at   mailto:capt.tom@comcast.net   This site is primarily about the New England shark species.    There is also general information on Sharks      This site also contains recreational shark fishing information.                         Photos of New England sharks  would be appreciated.

  Recent Updates:  August 14, 2008.  I have an article on big makos in the August issue of On The Water. 

  July 7, 2008 -  Put a shark photo for you to ID on the  new page I have added  

June 17th, 2008 -  Sandtiger sharks Carcharias taurus have started showing up in Mass. waters.
This is a protected species and should be released unharmed. They have been absent for about 50 years in any great numbers, but in the last few years have made a great comeback here. Many are caught by shore fishermen, while using bait for striped bass. 
Go to this page on the website for more information on that species. New England Sharks      
Shark sighting reports can be made at this link     http://www.masharks.com/Pages/sightings2.html

What shark species is this??. 

I get  e-mails asking me to Identify shark species. There are some species that I have never seen, because they are outside the New England area and I am not really familiar with the species. 

 I usually can answer the question by looking up the species in books using  the info provided in the e-mails and the photos provided; and by asking  the experts around  the  world, and knowledgeable people who have those sharks in their area.   In many cases I am familiar with the species that  I am asked to identify.

Since I am not personally familiar with some species; for identifying those sharks , I consult  with shark forums (Shark-L and Coastal Shark Fishing.) 

Additionally I get info from the following books to educate myself on these species:
The Sharks of North American Waters - Jose I. Castro
Sharks of the World  - Compagno- Dando- Fowler
Sharks, Tunas &Billfishes of the U.S. Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico.- Rhode Island Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries

I will be adding in shark IDs as I get them in. - tom

Got this photo in an e- mail on July 3, 2008 Here is the info: "I found this shark on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. And I was wondering if you could tell me what kind it is? thanks for you time." What do you think it is ;sandbar or dusky or  ??

Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 7:51 AM Subject: Hi From Puerto Rico Does this look like a shark tail to you ? Thanks Smitty A whale or a basker? What do you think?- Tom  Answer: March 13th 2008- Hay Smitty I got the report from NOAA . Capt . Tom King was right it is a Basker shark. Do me a favor. Thank Capt Tom for his help to identify this shark. And if he ever comes fishing to Puerto Rico to call me I will get all the bait he needs. Hay Thank you to Remember You have a friend over here  Ray

Saturday, February 09, 2008  got an e- mail with 2 photos. Hi -Wondering if you know what this is?   It was inside the stomach of the identical fish, and the large one was about 150  lbs. Dominican Republic last week   Thanks Mark    (Note: Mark did not see the bigger fish intact as it was cut up when he arrived.)                                                                                                                                                           Feb.18th, 2008- Tom here- This is a tough one.  I sent him my answer. What do you think.?  Feb 26th 2008   Answer:  it looks like a bigeye thresher Alopias superciliosus  The closest the bigeye gets to New England is New York. The species we have in New England is Alopias vulpinus the common thresher.

January 27, 2008-     Hi Capt. Tom,      Can you help us identify this type of shark.  We caught them in the Boca Grande pass on Florida's Gulf Coast.  We normally catch black tip sharks that fight for about an hour and then become very docile when landed.  This type of shark fights very hard for about 20 minutes and plays tired.  When landed they clamp on to any thing and are considerably more aggressive.  In my pic you can see the shark bit the side of the boat and wont let go!  I tried to pry his jaws of with my rod and his teeth even imbedded into our boat. The fins are bigger than the black tips.  Please try to help my dad and I identify the sharks.  Tom here-I am positive I know what it is, and we have them in New England on the south side of the Cape. What do you think it is? - tom Feb. 18, 2008- Answer: It is a sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus.  In New England they are called "Brown Sharks." Characteristics of a sandbar shark would be:  A very large first dorsal. The start of the first dorsal located over the pectorals and not behind them. There would be  a slight ridge on the back between the dorsals. A sandbar would have that. (as would a bignose-dusky-night-silky and tiger sharks, which are in US waters.) Also the color is usually an obvious brown. Sandbars are found from Cape Cod to Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and into the Caribbean. This shark was released after the photo op.

January 6, 2008 Answer to the question:  What shark species is this? Oceanic white tips have teeth like these , but these teeth have cusps at the bottom .  Hmmm.   It is the teeth of a small white shark, taken commercially in Massachusetts waters in 2007. When whites grow larger the cusps disappear. Also notice the gaps between the teeth, a characteristic of the Lamnidae family, which includes the white- shortfin mako- longfin mako - porbeagle and salmon shark.  The white is the only member of that family with serrated teeth. - tom

February 23, 2007 Got an e- mail from Marc. This shark was taken in the waters around  the Dominican Republic. It's a Bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas.  Gets as close to New England as New York. Bulls can enter and stay in fresh water also. IGFA record is 697 pounds taken in Africa.  Probably the most aggressive shark involved in attacks on people, in salt and freshwater. Whites, tigers and oceanic whitetips are other dangerous species.

October 10, 2006  I got a cell phone call from 3 friends who are flyrodding bass and blues on the Brewster Flats. (Cape Cod)  They are in 8 feet of water and have a 12 foot shark circling their boat.   I ask  them to take pictures. They get a good shot of the dorsal.   I asked them if the shark is making any attempt to eat the fish they are bringing back to the boat on the flyrods. They say no. I asked them if they could see a lot of white on the bottom side of the shark. They say no.  What do you think it is?     Jan. 26, 2007 - It is a basking sharks  dorsal.  (Cetorhinus maximus)- tom

Posted on August 27, 2006 -   From an earlier e- mail "  Hi tom, found your site and was wondering if you could id the shark in the photo's attached to this email,  they were taken in the north sea off a platform east of aberdeen Scotland. I don't think its a blue as it looks a little to squat to me and just not streamlined enough    regards Callum We have this species in New England year round.   It is a porbeagle, Lamna nasus.   (Notice the white patch on the back bottom of the dorsal fin, and on the bottom photo notice  the secondary keel on the tail just under where the body section joins the tail. )

From an e-mail.......  The shark was caught off the coast of the Florida Keys (specifically Isla Morada), in the Atlantic.  We were about 5 miles out to sea, and the depth I believe was about 80 feet.

Atlantic sharpnose shark,  Rhizoprionodon terraenovae There are not many of these sharks  north of New Jersey, but strays make it into our New England Waters.  They are also in the Gulf of Mexico. They grow to about 4 feet.  ( There are several more related species to this shark around the world. The closest range of  another closely related species, is the Caribbean sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon porosus .

  

From an e- mail.......Not sure what type of shark this is.  I think its a lemon.  Caught off of Marathon Florida.

photo by James Maluk

Blacknose shark,  Carcharhinus acronotus Grows to about 4-1/2 feet.  Usually has a dark spot on the nose.  Range on the East coast is from the Carolinas to Florida.  Also found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.     Not here in the New England area.