Shark attacks: Could they happen in New England?

It’s a nice sunny day at the beach. Children are playing, people are laughing, and a great white shark is swimming nearby, just waiting to catch and devour an unsuspecting swimmer who ventures too far out in the water.

Could that really happen here in New England? Not likely, according to one local shark expert.

“Shark attacks are essentially a non-factor in New England,” said Tony LaCasse, spokesperson for the New England Aquarium. “It’s one of the last things you have to worry about here.”

To put it in perspective, LaCasse said that there has not been a fatal shark attack in New England since 1936, when a 13-year-old boy was killed just south of Cape Cod. In contrast, two people in Massachusetts have died over the past 10 years from digging in sand pits.

LaCasse said the iconic movie Jaws plays a big part in the media interest about possible shark attacks that inevitably sparks up every June. “Ironically, Martha’s Vineyard would be one of the last places [shark attacks] would happen.”

This is not to say that sharks don’t live in New England waters, however. LaCasse said that beaches in south Maine were closed down two or three years ago as a precaution after blue sharks were spotted nearby. The sharks were following bait fish, and did not bother any humans.

What most people don’t realize, according to LaCasse, is that there are several hundred different species of sharks, with only about a dozen that are vicious to humans. “Only about 3% have historically had a problem with people,” LaCasse said. “New England doesn’t have a species of shark vicious to man.”

Of course, LaCasse did note that there are some exceptions. “We do have some great white sharks, but historically they have been more off-shore,” he said. “We are not on the menu.”

The cold New England water is another factor that makes shark attacks unlikely. “Places with shark attacks usually have warm water with lots of people in it,” LaCasse said. “We don’t have a lot of people in the water here.”

On top of all of this, LaCasse said that sharks have had a devastating worldwide population decline over the past decade or so. Some species are down as much as 90%.

LaCasse suggested that New England beachgoers focus their worries on other, more pressing issues, such as keeping your lunch refrigerated. “You’re more likely to die of food poisoning from bad mayonnaise on your sandwich than from a shark attack.”

For those still worried about becoming the second New England shark fatality in over 70 years, check out this useful website with tips on how to prevent a shark attack.