Sharks in Barnegat Bay

[OtterGreen]

This photo was taken off my friends dock before tubing in Tuckerton, about 10 miles from any inlet. There was 4 what seemed to be nurse sharks in total from 2 to 4 feet.

[Tim R.]

No worries. Although nurse sharks have the highest rate of attack on humans they are very docile. Because they are fairly docile, folks will mess with them and they will suddenly turn and bite.

I have been around many nurse sharks while scuba diving and snorkeling and they just swim around like any other fish without a bother.

[OtterGreen]

we werent worried, just kind of amazed on how they were able to survive in the shallow creeks so far away from the ocean. The tides are so low there, usually about 3 foot and the issues with the fertilizer run off makes it very difficult for food sources to thrive. It seems the only things living around here are crabs, sea nettles, flies and mosquitos.

[montenido]

Otter,
Do you have Bull sharks in your ocean area? If so, these might have been small Bulls. They are known to regularly frequent brackish and freshwater areas. They have been found hundreds of miles up the Amazon.

Just food for thought.

Bill

[JonEisberg]

Originally Posted by OtterGreen

we werent worried, just kind of amazed on how they were able to survive in the shallow creeks so far away from the ocean. The tides are so low there, usually about 3 foot and the issues with the fertilizer run off makes it very difficult for food sources to thrive. It seems the only things living around here are crabs, sea nettles, flies and mosquitos.

One would never think a fatal shark attack could occur up a Jersey Shore estuary like Matawan Creek, but it did during the fateful summer of 1916...

Despite having grown up on the Jersey Shore, I was only vaguely familiar with the events that transpired along our coast in 1916...

The Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks along the coast of New Jersey between July 1 and July 12, 1916, in which four people were killed and one injured. Since 1916, scholars have debated which shark species was responsible and the number of animals involved, with the great white shark and the bull shark most frequently being blamed. The attacks occurred during a deadly summer heat wave and polio epidemic in the northeastern United States that drove thousands of people to the seaside resorts of the Jersey Shore. Shark attacks on the Atlantic Coast of the United States outside the semitropical states of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas were rare, but scholars believe that the increased presence of sharks and humans in the water led to the attacks in 1916.

Local and national reaction to the attacks involved a wave of panic that led to shark hunts aimed at eradicating the population of "man-eating" sharks and protecting the economies of New Jersey's seaside communities. Resort towns enclosed their public beaches with steel nets to protect swimmers. Scientific knowledge about sharks before 1916 was based on conjecture and speculation. The attacks forced ichthyologists to reassess common beliefs about the abilities of sharks and the nature of shark attacks.

Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For anyone interested, or if you're just looking for a great summer read, I HIGHLY recommend CLOSE TO SHORE, by Michael Capuzzo...

Amazon.com: Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 (9780767904148): Michael Capuzzo: Books

It's a fascinating book, a great period piece depicting both the Jersey Shore and America of that era... Amazing to learn how little we knew about sharks 100 years ago, they were widely considered to be "timid" creatures who presented no risk whatsoever to humans...

Trust me, once you start this book, you won't want to put it down... A highly enjoyable read by a wonderful writer, and very gifted storyteller... Reminds me quite a bit of WHITE HURRICANE, the account of the Great Lakes storm of the early 20th century others have recommended here recently...

[RichH]

Thats a Bull Shark.
As a kid, I spent my summers growing up on Long Beach Island, NJ and the 'back bays' and sometimes a 'large' bull would take up (in my adolescent mind) most of the width of the small creeks I was fishing in a small row boat.

Largest one I ever saw was a massive 14ft. 1100lb. bull that got 'hung-up' in a fish trap on the Chesapeake.

Bulls are the #3 ranked man-eater.
Google Image Result for http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/bullshark/bullsharkphoto.jpg

[SailingWebGuy]

Lots of sharks in Barnegat Bay. People catch em right off the docks in Beach Haven pretty frequently. A week a go someone got a 154lb brown shark at night right at Morrison's.

[OtterGreen]

i know people can catch them off the beach, but like i said webguy, living and residing in a shallow creek! my buddy was upset because he was letting his dachshund swim off the dock all summer long.

[HeartsContent]

Originally Posted by RichH

Thats a Bull Shark.

Yes it is!

[OtterGreen]

Monte, bull sharks stop around the Carolinas. im all the way in NJ and from commercial fishing i know there are thousands of sharks at any given time just off the coast and inside the inlets, just not so far from their home!