North Carolina and Sharks
By Ara McClanahan
In early June, Carteret County made national and international news with two
words—“shark attack.” In itself, the word “attack” implies intent to act on a specific
target, but despite what we may see in movies, on television or read in books—or
maybe hear from others—behaviorally, sharks do not intentionally seek humans
as prey. When these rare, unfortunate encounters happen, it may be easy to blame
sharks in general; however, sharks are specialized animals with many interesting
traits and characteristics and are generally misunderstood by humans. We should
not blame sharks for their actions in their own environment. They are wild animals
that inhabit every ocean on earth (and some other bodies of water as well).
Excluding bacteria, the planet we call home is also home to about 8.7 million
other species. Out of those species, about 2.2 million live in the ocean, and out of
those there are only just over 500 described species of shark and over 600 species of
skate and ray. In comparison, there are approximately 30,000 species of bony fish in
the worlds oceans.
It is not common knowledge that sharks have experienced massive depletions
worldwide, including sharks here in North Carolina. Years and years of research
and surveys have shown us that elimination and depletion of apex predators (large
keystone sharks) leads to population spikes of mesopredators (small- to medium
sized sharks). Unfortunately, many folks view sharks as monsters, man eaters, bait
stealers or nuisances and refuse to believe shark populations are in decline. Sharks
are being hunted and are dying by the millions all over the world. I often hear, “I
see more sharks now than I ever have,” and I always ask, “Well, what species do you
see?” Nine times out of ten it will be a small- to medium-sized species.
North Carolina’s geography is ideal for sharks at all life stages. Our estuaries,
sounds and rivers are important pupping grounds for several species. Our inshore
waters are also valuable feeding grounds for many species. Our offshore waters not
only serve as a “highway” for several migratory species, but also have hundreds to
thousands of shipwrecks, which serve as artificial reefs for a plethora of species,
including our beautiful world-renowned sand tiger sharks, which attract divers to
our area from all over the world. North Carolina is a great place to be—our beaches
are beautiful; the waters are teeming with life; and our reefs, estuaries, and sounds
are healthy. We want to keep it that way.
During a shark tag
retrieval mission,
aquarists from the NG
Aquarium at Pine Knoll
Shores came upon what
they thought was a dead
floating shark. However,
this female dusky smooth
hound shark (held by the
author) was bloated with
air and couldn’t swim
properly. After “burping”
her and gently putting
her back in the water,
she immediately swam
away with no issues.
—Photo by Fred Boyce
■Sfe;:..
In 2003, the late Dr. Frank Schwartz described 56 species of shark that inhabit
North Carolina’s inshore and offshore waters, with 28 of those considered
frequenters of inshore habitats. Both numbers are a year-round total because many
shark species move around, whether north to south, inshore to offshore, deep
water to shallow water, or vice versa. Many species of shark that come through our
waters are highly migratory, like white sharks {Carcharodon carcharias) (which
received some media attention recently), mako sharks {hums oxyrinchus), great
hammerhead sharks {Sphyrna mokarran) and more. Each shark species has specific
preferences that dictate where they go. These habitat preferences and movements
are based on depth, time of day, seasonality (which affects water temperature and
food availability) and likely other factors that we might not completely understand
yet.
Many sharks follow the same vacationing patterns as our northern tourists.
For example, basking sharks {Cetorhinus maximus), the second largest fish in the
ocean, migrate southward toward North Carolina’s warmer, yet still cool, waters
around late November through April. Between 1901 and 2002, over 360 basking
sharks have been recorded off our coast. Like our year-round locals, Atlantic
*
Wm
A concerned Emerald Isle resident witnessed a large shark struggling to swim in the surf.
Courageously, she tried to go out into the water and help the shark swim, but it was too late.
It was identified as a scalloped hammerhead shark, but, unfortunately, the cause of death
was inconclusive.—Photo by Ara McClanahan
sharpnose sharks {Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) enjoy North Carolina’s inshore
waters year-round, whereas a common thresher shark {Alopias vulpinus) might
enjoy North Carolinas offshore waters year-round.
Based on historical findings and years of data, sharks you may see inshore in
July include, but are not limited to, Atlantic sharpnoses, dusky smooth hounds
{Mustelus canis), blacknoses {Carcharhinus acronotus), blacktips {Carcharhinus
limbatus), spinners {Carcharhinus brevipinna), finetooths {Carcharhinus
isodon), sandbars {Carcharhinusplumbeus), bulls {Carcharhinus leucas), silkies
{Carcharhinus falciformis), duskies {Carcharhinus obscurus), tigers {Galeocerdo
cuvier), nurses {Ginglymostoma cirratum), scalloped hammerheads {Sphyrna
lewmi), smooth hammerheads {Sphyrna zygaena), bonnetheads {Sphyrna tiburo),
sand tigers {Carcharias taurus) and more.
Sharks in North Carolina can range anywhere in size from the smaller Caribbean
antern shark {Etmopterus hillianus), found in very deep water and averaging
9.5 inches in length, to the 39-foot (average) occasional visiting whale shark
(Continued on page 9)
The Shoreline I July 2019