The Gilgo Shark Isn't My Shark

A large basking shark (is there any other kind?) has been making appearances on the south shore of Long Island over the last few weeks.   It was photographed while it cruised by some local surfers at Ponquogue a few weeks ago (a friend SUPing in the area who saw the thing described a massive fin) and seems to have washed up dead at Gilgo a few days ago.   A few people have suggested to me that perhaps this was the shark that scared the hell out of me at the Bowl last month.

T’was not.

The basking shark that washed up (as well as the one in the photo) is at least twenty feet long.   Mine was seven feet.   I’m fairly sure I would not describe a twenty-something foot shark swimming in spitting distance of me as only a third it’s size.  And the fin shape in the photographs of the basking shark is not the shape or size of the fin I saw.   Etc. etc.   Mine looked more like the fellow in the second photograph…lean, built for speed and business.

In any event, Long Island plankton are breathing easier today!

(Top photo: a basking shark at Ponquogue, photographed by Matt Murphy, courtesy http://27east.com via the Southampton Press.   The bottom photo is something I found and tweaked that is a good approximation of what I saw over my right shoulder at the Bowl.)

Comments

[scott k]

Mike I believe u saw either a thresher or possibly a mako...the man in the gray suit.

[Joe Rouse]

Mako or Bull. The Thresher has a long tail fin, one third of their body is fin.

[Michael]

It wasn't a thresher. May I please have some nicer choices than mako or bull? Some "has never attacked humans" type?

What we really need is a good day in the waves...a 20 knot easterly at Ponquogue.

[CD]

What ever your smoking I want some...do I here the theme song from Jaws, Mike I am glad you are still with us, great story!!!CD

[Michael]

CD, I could have used your windchimp wisdom on Shark Day! Meanwhile we're past due for a session at Ponquogue or the like. I will petition the wind gods for a good easterly.

[Ian Berger]

My guess is your shark was probably a Sand Tiger shark. They're fairly slow-moving and common around this area. They're also more likely to be found close to shore than either a Mako or a Thresher. Makos are very fast swimmers; they're one of the fastest fish in the ocean, actually. The thresher has that unique tail which makes it unmistakable.

Check:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_tiger_shark
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/DeSCRIPT/Sandtiger/Sandtiger.html

Sand Tigers have been known to bite humans, but they're not nearly as nasty as a Bull Shark. Bull Sharks are the worst, believe it or not. They're responsible for more shark bites than any other shark. Fortunately they average about nine feet, so Bulls aren't as deadly as our friends the Tiger or the Great White, but they're pretty aggressive. The real baddies, the Tiger and Great White, are pretty rare around here.

-Ian

www.hudsonwindsurfer.blogspot.com

[the editor]

Ian, I don't think it was a sand tiger. I've looked at the links you sent, and read some other pages, and they all talk about (and show) a relatively small dorsal fin. "My" shark's fin had a higher aspect ratio than that sported by the sand tiger. Mine looked much more like the photos I find online of the mako, though I'm not saying it was a mako shark. It definitely wasn't a thresher.

[Ian Berger]

So I got a little obsessed with this and I found a link to list of Atlantic sharks: http://www.marinebiodiversity.ca/shark/english/atlantic.htm

These are the ones found in Canada, but they should mostly overlap. Check out the Porbeagle, the Dusky and the Tiger. Apparently the Mako is rarely found closer than a mile from shore.

Good Tiger shark link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_shark

-Ian, who used to be a shark nut

[Michael]

I've been looking at the sharks on this page. From these photos and info I think I saw either a mako, a porbeagle, or a white.

I grew up with a beagle, so I'm rooting for a porbeagle.

[scott k.]

WHAAAAAAAAT?