Rare Shark 'Stabbed,' Left for Dead on Massachusetts Beach
A sand tiger shark swims at the Ocearium in Le Croisic, western France, on December 6, 2016. Sand tiger sharks are listed as a critically endangered species.
A rare baby sand tiger shark was found dead on a Massachusetts beach early Wednesday morning.
The young shark was discovered by a woman walking along a Marshfield beach on Saturday, the Boston Herald reported. The beachgoer placed the stricken shark back in the water in the hopes of reviving it and also reported the sighting to marine biologist John Chisholm.
The protected shark had reportedly been caught by a bass fisherman and stabbed several times before being left for dead on the South Shore beach, in a possible case of mistaken identity, according to Chisholm.
"The fisherman had caught it and apparently thought it was a dogfish, which is thought of as a nuisance fish that overwhelm a fishing spot, so they kill them," Chisholm told the Boston Herald on Monday.
Newsweek reached out to Chisholm via the New England Aquarium and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries on Friday for further comment.
DMF regulations list the sand tiger shark as a prohibited species, banned from harvest, alongside other species, including the silky, sandbar, and bigeye sand tiger shark.
The sand tiger shark, also known as the gray nurse shark or Carcharias taurus, is a vulnerable species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It was most recently assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2020. Carcharias taurus is listed as Critically Endangered under criteria A2bd.
These sharks are known for their docile nature despite their fearsome appearance, which is characterized by a mouth full of protruding, sharp teeth.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Chisholm reiterated that fishers are responsible for knowing their catch.
He posted a picture of the dead shark alongside an image of the distinguishing features of dogfish, in comparison to sand tiger sharks, writing, "They're often mistaken for dogfish but unlike the dogfish they are a prohibited species. Please spread the word."
According to the ocean conservation advocacy group Oceana, sand tiger sharks are targeted in some commercial fisheries for their fins, meat, and oil and for the aquarium trade worldwide.
"Sand tiger sharks are primarily caught by line fishing," Oceana says on its website. "They are also vulnerable to being caught commercially and as bycatch in bottom trawls and gillnets. Because of their coastal habitat, sand tiger sharks are overfished and experienced a 75 percent decline from 1980 to 1990 as a result.
"Overfishing, paired with the sand tiger shark's extremely low reproductive rate, has led to the species being listed as vulnerable to extinction."
Oceana warns that the sand tiger shark could become extinct unless the shark fin trade is ended and overfishing is stopped.
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