Gary is an ecologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service. What kind of sharks live in the waters around D.C.?
Well, when you say around D.C., we’re talking about the Potomac River and its tidally influenced waters. Depending on conditions of drought or heavy rainfall, the Potomac may be either very fresh or salty. This year’s … low salinity limits the diversity of shark species you might see pretty much to one, the bull shark. Bull sharks are capable of adapting to a wide range of salinities, and have the ability to tolerate a freshwater environment.
How large do bull sharks get?
They can get quite large, attaining 9, 10, 11 feet in length.
Are they ever dangerous to humans?
Have there been interactions with bull sharks and humans? Yes, there have, but in nearly all documented cases, the shark either made a mistake in poor-visibility waters, or the animal was provoked.
Can you tell us about the shark population in waters at the beaches like Ocean City?
There’s some near-shore shark species, and they include smooth dogfish and spiny dogfish, those are the most common. They can get 3 or 4 feet, 5 feet long, they vary in size, they’re pretty harmless. You do get a few other fish species along the shoreline. There’s fish known as bonnetheads, and they look like little mini hammerhead sharks. You can find them almost anywhere along the mid-Atlantic here: Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey. These are not big fish; these bonnetheads typically are 3 to 4 feet long.
I’ve never heard, ever, of a beach warning off of the Virginia, Maryland, Delaware [or] the southern New Jersey shoreline. I think the message there is, is there a reason to be concerned about sharks? And the answer would be no.
Betsy Woodruff
