The occasional hammerhead sighting off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket has grown into a more common shark sighting this summer, including when a pair of hammerheads closed a beach for swimming earlier this week.
The warm-water sharks that are increasingly frequenting the Massachusetts region could be a sign of things to come, according to a local shark expert, who predicts other warm-water sharks will also come here as the ocean warms.
“Previously, it wasn’t uncommon to see one (hammerhead shark) on the south side of the islands, but it’s unusual to see how many we’re seeing near shore now,” said John Chisholm, a staff member at the New England Aquarium and has shark sightings for pursued by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
“We’re seeing more and more coming closer and closer to the islands,” he added. “Hammerhead sharks are the stars of the hour.”
The latest hammerhead shark sighting occurred Monday off South Beach in Edgartown, prompting the beach to temporarily close for swimming. A drone photographer snapped a shot from above showing a pair of hammerhead sharks near the beach.
Hammerhead shark haunts around here were on the south side of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. A hammerhead shark was spotted off Nantucket’s Cisco Beach earlier this summer.
Hammerheads have even been spotted around Chatham’s Monomoy Island, a great white shark hotspot.
“This was historically the northern extent of their summer range,” Chisholm said. “We know it’s a warm-water species, and the warmer the water gets up here, the wider its range will be.
“As the water gets warmer, we can expect to see more species like this,” he added, noting that blacktip and spinner sharks could be some of these warm-water species migrating north.
Tiger sharks are now migrating farther north each year due to climate change and warmer oceans, according to a study published earlier this year.
While great white sharks hunt for seals near shore along the cape, hammerheads are piscivores and like to feed on striped bass.
“They’re not really a threat to humans, but they do have the potential to bite,” Chisholm said, explaining why beaches were closed to swimming after a hammerhead shark sighting.
According to the International Shark Attack File, a total of 16 cases of hammerhead shark bites have been reported worldwide since 1900. Most of these “unprovoked” shark attacks occurred along the Florida coast, and none of the 16 hammerhead shark bites were fatal.
Great white sharks are responsible for the most reported shark bites, with a total of 354 incidents, including 57 fatal bites. Tiger sharks follow with a total of 138 incidents, including 36 fatal bites.
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