New England Shark Presence Very Unlikely

DURHAM- With many people wondering about the shark attacks seen in the movie Jaws, the question comes up could it happen here in New England?

"There is an extremely minimal chance for shark attacks to occur in the New Hampshire waters," New Hampshire Fish and Games Marine Biologist Kevin Sullivan said. “In the past, I have no recollection of any shark attacks in New Hampshire.”

“The closest relative shark attack in the New England area would be the scare that took place in Maine,” Sullivan continued. “There was a sighting of Mako, Blue, and Porbeagle sharks in the waters along the coast.”

The possibility of sharks attacking in New Hampshire are very slim and if they do it is because of the large quantities of bait fish in the New Hampshire waters.

The state of Massachusetts received a shark attack sighting along the warm waterfronts. The shark that was sighted was said to be a white shark.

White Sharks, according to Capt. Tom’s Guide to White Sharks, are said to have a very wide temperature tolerance range. They can withstand cold water temperatures in the forties which means they can be in the New Hampshire Waters year round.

The last known shark attack that took place in the New England region was dated back to the mid 1930s and the early 1800s. Both were fatal attacks that took the lives of two young individuals.

Sullivan said that if you are in sighting of a shark coming upon you that you should remain calm and do not show fear because sharks take fear into their jaws of death.

“When you are in the risk of a shark attack,” Sullivan said. “Stay calm and get into a defensive position. Plant your feet into the ground and do not show fear. Sharks take fear as a threat and will do anything to attack it.”

Due to the minimal risk of encounter a shark in the New Hampshire Waters, the likelihood of a shark attack is very certain to not be a man eating kind of shark. The sharks that would attack would only be out to find waters that they can survive in.