The White Shark in Maine and Canadian Atlantic Waters

Abstract

Dispelling the popular belief that the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is accidental to northern waters, the author, through compiling local and literary documentation of the species, suggests that the white shark is a perennial, seasonal visitor to the northern Gulf of Maine. Recently I called several Downeast Maine commercial and sportfishing companies (pers. comm., July 1997-March 1998) and asked about the presence of the white shark {Carcharodon carcharias) in Maine waters. Voicing what seems to be the popular opinion, they all replied: There are none of them around here?water's too cold. The fishermans' response is, in part, justifiable. For, the white shark is commonly associated with temperate waters (14-22?C; 57-7TF) off California, South Africa and Australia (Compagno 1984). On the Atlan? tic seaboard, the greatest number of white shark encounters occur in similarly temperate waters of the mid-Atlantic Bight fishing banks, which extend from Cape Hatteras, NC, to Cape Cod, MA (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953, Pratt and Casey 1985). White shark encounters have been numerous around Cape Cod. Two noteworthy encounters, in 1867 and 1928, both involved white sharks attacking and overturning fishing dories (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). A white shark is suspected in the fatality of a swimmer off Mattapoisett in Buzzard's Bay on 25 July, 1936, and many have been seen or trapped in water 3 m or less, including off Woods Hole, MA, and Provincetown and Boston Harbors (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). In early August, 1996, a 5.1 m specimen was landed off Salem, MA, by a sports fisher? man (Associated Press 1996). North of Cape Cod, the white shark is considered an accidental visitor (Table 1, Fig. 1). The noticable absence of Maine reports and, with one exception, Atlantic Canadian reports in Ellis and McCosker's (1991) otherwise comprehensive Great White Shark also reveals the popular sentiment. However, when compiling the documentation, often revealed in local papers and fishery records, the white shark appears to be a perennial, rather than accidental, visitor to north Atlantic waters. Native American Mi'kmaq tribes of Atlantic Canada seem to have encountered the white shark. In his recent curatorial report on Harry 8472 Center Road, Traverse City, MI 49686 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.189 on Thu, 04 Aug 2016 04:24:20 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Table 1. Chronological record of white shark records from Maine and Canadian Atlantic waters. Date Locality Method Length (m) and Sex References