JoeBfishing
Well-Known Angler
Yeah but, I bet you don’t let your little tootsies dangle over the side of the tube anymore!!?
Fatal Great White Shark Attack Along Maine's Midcoast
- Thread starter Roccus7
- Start date
According to reports that area holds seals and she was wearing a wet suite. A sad case of mistaken identity. Those same sharks have been patrolling or inshore Waters here in NY. Chris Speis had a fluke devoured by a white that darted up grabbed his fluke, bucktail and line. It then sat by the boat for 3 very experienced anglers to get a clear view of a huge white within earshot of the beach.
I doubt my red tube will remind any apex marine predator of a seal...
Hey @CELLFISH, a lovely 64.24°F at the dock at 8:47. It'll be warmer now...
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Yes every beach from Long Beach Island through Tobay (town of Oyster Bay) was closed for two days due to multiple sightings. No chomps as yet. Not sure if Fire Island had any beach closing for sharks as yet.
www.pennlive.com
Shark sightings prompt officials to prohibit swimming at Long Island beaches: reports
The sightings were at Lido West Beach and the adjacent Nickerson Beach.
www.pennlive.com
NJ 1916 was a Great White, which, like Makos and Porbeagles, can maintain a body temperature greater than the water temps. Makos are still fond of warmer water, but GWS & Porbeagles like it cooler so Global Warming isn't on the table here at least when talking about Whites, especially since they prefer cooler water. The NJ attacks too place in a wicked heat wave if memory serves me correctly.
This afternoon Shark Factoid: The Pacific Porbeagle, different from the Atlantic cousin, is called "The Salmon Shark". Why? Because it just about solely feeds on salmon and usually feeds on them in glacial rivers deltas which tend to be quite cold. If they couldn't maintain a warm body temperature, there's no way they would have the speed to catch salmon...
AnGlers fishing shark from the beach need to be aware that even just holding a shark on the beach for a photo Is illegal.
Today's blurb from the Portland Papah. Love the watering hole comment...
Great whites attracted by plentiful seal populations in Maine waters
pressherald.com/2020/07/28/great-whites-attracted-by-plentiful-seal-populations-in-maine-waters/
By Edward D. MurphyStaff WriterJuly 29, 2020
Monday’s fatal shark attack off Harpswell is the result of rebounding great white shark and seal populations along the Maine coast, experts say.
The attack on Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, was the first fatal shark attack in the state’s history. A diver was attacked off Eastport in 2010, according to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File, but he was not injured and fended off a porbeagle shark with his video camera.
Seal populations have grown since a 1972 law barred killing of marine mammals and white shark numbers have been rebounding for two decades as a result of a rule that said fishermen could no longer kill the fearsome predators, a shark expert based in Massachusetts said.
Gregory Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries dismissed speculation that warming water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine might be enticing more great whites to the state’s coastline.
He said the sharks always have been frequent visitors to Maine waters, but that growing seal populations might be drawing them closer to the shore. Seals are a favorite food of the great white, he said.
Tobey Curtis, fishery management specialist of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Special Management Division for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, concurred with Skomal’s assessment.
“Understanding the effects of climate change on fish populations, including sharks, is an emerging area of study and a priority for NOAA Fisheries, (but) there is currently no evidence that white sharks or other species are spending more or less time near shore as a result of warming waters,” he said. “There is also no reason to suspect warming waters would bring more white sharks to the region; they are already there.”
Curtis said white sharks have been spotted in Maine for decades, particularly in the summer and fall months, and any lack of encounters with humans simply indicates that they are ignoring us and hunting their natural prey.
“Food availability, more than water temperature, influences where the sharks hang out during these seasons,” he said. “Locations with abundant seals in particular will more frequently attract white sharks.”
Seal populations were decimated in the 1950s and ’60s, but the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act barred the killing of marine mammals and the the seal population has boomed all along the northeast coast as a result.
Great white sharks range as far north as Canada, said Skomal, who identified the shark involved in Monday’s attack as a great white by examining a tooth fragment that was recovered. It was clearly a great white, he said.
Shark populations off Cape Cod have grown dramatically, Skomal said, and, in shark terms, a trip to Maine is an easy journey. He said a great white could move from the coast of Massachusetts to Maine in a day.
“The occurrence of white sharks off the coast of Maine, that’s nothing new,” he said, but the numbers might be growing.
James Sulikowski, a professor with Arizona State University, said great white sharks generally populate the waters off New England from July to November, when they head south. Sulikowski used to teach at the University of New England and still conducts research in New England.
Sulikowski said a seal was found Sunday off Phippsburg with a 19-inch shark wound that was likely the work of a great white. He said there were witness reports that Holowach was thrown into the air by the force of the attack and that, too, suggests a great white, although its not clear if it was the same shark that attacked the seal.
“Great whites are basically ambush predators” that swim below their prey and then attack with a sudden rush to the surface, Skomal said. Officials have said that Holowach was wearing a wet suit and the shark might have confused her with a seal, he said.
Sulikowski said he will be checking information on pingers that have been attached to some great whites to track their movements to see if they’ve been congregating off Maine. He and Skomal said a handful of sharks have been fitted with technology that allows researchers to track shark movements in real time, but most have pingers that connect to offshore buoys and the data has to be downloaded onsite, so it’s only collected every few months.
Both experts said there are simple steps that people can take to avoid being in proximity with great whites, starting by not swimming in areas where seals congregate or large schools of fish are present.
They also urged swimmers to avoid wearing dark wet suits and shiny objects, such as jewelry, that might attract a shark’s attention. And, if officials say sharks have been spotted, stay out of the water, Sulikowski said.
“If you’re on a safari and you know there are lions around, you’re not going to go down to the watering hole,” he said.
Great whites attracted by plentiful seal populations in Maine waters
By Edward D. MurphyStaff WriterJuly 29, 2020
Monday’s fatal shark attack off Harpswell is the result of rebounding great white shark and seal populations along the Maine coast, experts say.
The attack on Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, was the first fatal shark attack in the state’s history. A diver was attacked off Eastport in 2010, according to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File, but he was not injured and fended off a porbeagle shark with his video camera.
Seal populations have grown since a 1972 law barred killing of marine mammals and white shark numbers have been rebounding for two decades as a result of a rule that said fishermen could no longer kill the fearsome predators, a shark expert based in Massachusetts said.
Gregory Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries dismissed speculation that warming water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine might be enticing more great whites to the state’s coastline.
He said the sharks always have been frequent visitors to Maine waters, but that growing seal populations might be drawing them closer to the shore. Seals are a favorite food of the great white, he said.
Tobey Curtis, fishery management specialist of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Special Management Division for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, concurred with Skomal’s assessment.
“Understanding the effects of climate change on fish populations, including sharks, is an emerging area of study and a priority for NOAA Fisheries, (but) there is currently no evidence that white sharks or other species are spending more or less time near shore as a result of warming waters,” he said. “There is also no reason to suspect warming waters would bring more white sharks to the region; they are already there.”
Curtis said white sharks have been spotted in Maine for decades, particularly in the summer and fall months, and any lack of encounters with humans simply indicates that they are ignoring us and hunting their natural prey.
“Food availability, more than water temperature, influences where the sharks hang out during these seasons,” he said. “Locations with abundant seals in particular will more frequently attract white sharks.”
Seal populations were decimated in the 1950s and ’60s, but the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act barred the killing of marine mammals and the the seal population has boomed all along the northeast coast as a result.
Great white sharks range as far north as Canada, said Skomal, who identified the shark involved in Monday’s attack as a great white by examining a tooth fragment that was recovered. It was clearly a great white, he said.
Shark populations off Cape Cod have grown dramatically, Skomal said, and, in shark terms, a trip to Maine is an easy journey. He said a great white could move from the coast of Massachusetts to Maine in a day.
“The occurrence of white sharks off the coast of Maine, that’s nothing new,” he said, but the numbers might be growing.
James Sulikowski, a professor with Arizona State University, said great white sharks generally populate the waters off New England from July to November, when they head south. Sulikowski used to teach at the University of New England and still conducts research in New England.
Sulikowski said a seal was found Sunday off Phippsburg with a 19-inch shark wound that was likely the work of a great white. He said there were witness reports that Holowach was thrown into the air by the force of the attack and that, too, suggests a great white, although its not clear if it was the same shark that attacked the seal.
“Great whites are basically ambush predators” that swim below their prey and then attack with a sudden rush to the surface, Skomal said. Officials have said that Holowach was wearing a wet suit and the shark might have confused her with a seal, he said.
Sulikowski said he will be checking information on pingers that have been attached to some great whites to track their movements to see if they’ve been congregating off Maine. He and Skomal said a handful of sharks have been fitted with technology that allows researchers to track shark movements in real time, but most have pingers that connect to offshore buoys and the data has to be downloaded onsite, so it’s only collected every few months.
Both experts said there are simple steps that people can take to avoid being in proximity with great whites, starting by not swimming in areas where seals congregate or large schools of fish are present.
They also urged swimmers to avoid wearing dark wet suits and shiny objects, such as jewelry, that might attract a shark’s attention. And, if officials say sharks have been spotted, stay out of the water, Sulikowski said.
“If you’re on a safari and you know there are lions around, you’re not going to go down to the watering hole,” he said.
Aquarius
Angler
I too had read that the New Jersey attacks were by a Bull Shark. A newspaper article had said that a large shark was caught in Raritan Bay not far from where some of the attacks took place. The species was not identified however. Some of the attacks occurred up the Matawann Creek (I think) and that is almost fresh water. Bull sharks have been known to cross over into almost fresh water.
Truth is, we will never know for sure the exact species or even if they were all by the same fish.
There was a white caught there with "human-like" flesh in its stomach, but no one is absolutely sure it was a single fish and that fish was even involved.
At the time, there was even some speculation that a sea turtle was the culprit!!
Aquarius
Angler
I just read the Wikipedia version of the event. That is the first time I had read about the white shark with human remains in its stomach. Also about the sea turtle. They were clearly trying to not scare people from the Jersey Beaches (Amity Island!!) by trying to support the theory that sharks did not prey on humans.
Interesting that some were blaming the Germans for sinking Merchant ships and giving the sharks a taste of human flesh! Remember, WWI was on in Europe and the USA not really involved yet other than the Merchant Marine.
I agree with you on the law, but I don't see the tackle shops being responsible. It's up to the state, and now they have data on every saltwater angler that should be doable. They also need to use their social channels to help inform this uniformed group.
This generation is all about the photo or video. They are very conservation minded, as I've found of most anglers, and will do what's right.
I do wonder how an eco can prove what they are targeting, but it's simple to see a photo on Instagram that a person is in violation of possession. I think these these sharks are very Hardy, but the law is the law.
This generation is all about the photo or video. They are very conservation minded, as I've found of most anglers, and will do what's right.
I do wonder how an eco can prove what they are targeting, but it's simple to see a photo on Instagram that a person is in violation of possession. I think these these sharks are very Hardy, but the law is the law.
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