September 2008

On September 4, 2008, the Division of Marine Fisheries tagged and released a young female sand tiger shark here at the Jones River Landing. The shark had been caught nearby in the river and DMF alerted. See our Gallery link above for pictures from the tagging and release!

Sand tigers are protected at the State and Federal levels and may not be deliberatly fished for. If caught, sand tigers must be released unharmed. If you would like to report sand tiger information, please contact the Massachusetts Shark Research Program at 508-910-6329 or 508-693-4372.

Thanks also to John Chisholm of the DMF for his enlightening shark talk on September 3. Here's a summary from John:

The sand tiger (Carcharias taurus) is a coastal shark often encountered by shore fishermen while fishing for striped bass and bluefish. It is protected by both State and Federal laws and fishermen in the area should be aware that these sharks are in our coastal waters, bays, and estuaries from July through September. Sand tigers have two dorsal fins of equal size and are grayish brown in appearance, often with dusky spots on their sides and tail. They are most often confused with smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), but sand tigers have very noticeable long thin teeth while smooth dogfish do not. The spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is another small coastal shark, but can easily be distinguished from a sand tiger by its two dorsal fin spines and the lack of anal fin.

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