Hello everyone and welcome as always. Today's blog is going to be a quick one as I quickly take a look at some events that have been going on over the past few days as there has been quite a few shark related things going on.
First off, a video has surfaced of a 13 year old catching a sand tiger shark from the beach in Long Beach Island. The shark was estimated to be around 7 feet in length and the kid and his father were trying to catch stingrays when the shark grabbed a hold of the bait. I've gotta say that a 13 year old getting a big sand tiger onto the beach is no easy feat so that impressed me personally. Once on the beach the dad and kid took a couple quick photos of the shark then quickly released it back into the water. Sand tiger sharks are a protected species so releasing it was absolutely the correct thing to do. In addition, the father/son duo didn't go all crazy with their catch. There was no passing the shark around and from the looks of it, I'd say the shark never left the ground throughout the brief time it was out of the water.So there's a sand tiger shark literally being caught in the surf. The video of the catch was all over the news yesterday so a quick google search should find it for you. For the privacy of the names of the kid and father and what not, I'm not going to post it here.
Next there's a bit of a mystery as to just what was swimming off the beach in Belmar a few days ago. Beachgoers were shocked to see two fins hanging around in the surf. The controversy lies in just what those fins belonged to. The town Mayor claims that the fins belonged to bullnose rays that were playing in the surf. Meanwhile Erich Ritter, a research associate from the University of West Florida claims the fins could have been from one of many species of shark. To me, the video shows a few young sharks going after something, probably some bunker that has been nearly endless in the area lately. Similar reports of seeing smaller fins circling and splashing was also reported in nearby Spring Lake just days before. Chances are these are young sharks investigating their surroundings, but they're so small I'm not going to guess the species, I'll leave that up to the experts.
Last week a couple fishermen were shocked off the coast of Atlantic City when a great white shark appeared at their boat while they were fishing for other shark species. The great white made a few passes by the boat, occasionally rolling onto it's side to check out the boat and fishermen. It apparently took a small investigative bite on the back of the boat and eventually left.
The point here is just as I said a couple blogs ago. Sharks are in the Ocean and they come to New Jersey every year. The small sharks off Belmar were chasing food around, if the kid on Long Beach Island was going for stingrays, then wouldn't you know it, a shark was around because sharks eat stingrays, and a great white appeared by a boat that was trying to catch other sharks, thus luring the great white to food. It's all about the food chain here and where they prey will go, the predators will follow. That's the way the seas have worked forever, so again, the sharks are not there because you are there, they are there because they have to be to eat and really try and keep the lesser fish populations in check. I'm hopeful more of these amazing animals are seen because they are really signifying a healthier ocean. I can personally attest to that as the last time I was on a boat from Point Pleasant to Belmar, there were literally millions and millions of bunker. Five years ago you'd be lucky if you saw any while cruising around. Where the food is the sharks will follow, but the key is. The bunker is the food, not the humans!
Stay tuned for more shark stuff coming soon!
