Mystic Aquarium Assists Massive Shark Recovery in Watch Hill

We've heard about Great White Sharks in the waters off Cape Cod every Summer, well, you can see by the above photo, some big sharks are out there in the Winter also, and they're even closer to Connecticut.

Get our free mobile app

If you've been to Misquamicut Beach State Park in Rhode Island, you've been in the Watch Hill/East Beach area, and that is where an 8 foot 8 inch Porbeagle Shark appeared along the Rhode Island shoreline as the tide went out. According to The Atlantic Shark Institute, Porbeagle Sharks prefer cold water, and stay here through Winter while warm water sharks head back down South. Atlantic Shark Institute mentions the team from Mystic Aquarium for their help in getting the shark onto the beach, and into the NOAA/Apex predator cooler in Narragansett, Rhode Island for a necropsy.

It's funny, even though the water off of New London/Mystic/Misquamicut/Watch Hill/East Beach/and Rocky Neck is right in the same part of the world of Jaws and Martha's Vineyard, I've never been worried about sharks in Connecticut or Rhode Island, only when I go in off the Cape do I get that fear.

According to Wikipedia, the Porbeagle Shark is typically found in the cold, temperate waters of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere. Porbeagle Sharks typically grow to 8.2 feet in length, and weigh almost 300 pounds. Typically, they eat bony fish and cephalopods, but only a few human attacks have been blamed on a Porbeagle. Great White Sharks and Orcas are Porbeagle predators, we'll find out after the necropsy if this poor beast took a bite near Matunuck Oyster Bar.