On New Hampshire Coasts there Is "Virtually No Risk" for Shark Attacks

            Visitors flocking to New Hampshire beaches this summer can swim without concern, even in light of the recent shark attacks off Amity Island that killed two locals.

            “Historically the level of risk of a shark attack off New Hampshire is zero,” said Tony LaCasse, Media Relations Director for the New England Aquarium and an alumni of the University of New Hampshire. “In fact, there’s virtually no risk at any time.”

            LaCasse said this is because one of the most common species of sharks that provoke attacks on humans, the great white shark, does not have a regular habitat off New Hampshire.  Great white sharks are normally spotted where large seals, their main food source, live in high densities and are easy to reach.  While New Hampshire does have a seal population, is it low density, and the seals are smaller in size. 

            “While you could have great white sharks traversing the area, the food just isn’t there,” LaCasse said.

            This concern about sharks in New England waters has increased after two Amity Island locals, Chrissie Watson, 17, and Alex Kintner, 10, were killed in shark attacks in the past two days.  Watson’s body was found mauled this morning on South Beach after she went missing while swimming the night before.  Later in the day, Kintner was attacked off the crowded Village Beach, but his body has not been recovered at this time.

            The last time a fatal shark attack was recorded in Massachusetts was 1936, and, before today, only three total attacks have ever been recorded in the state, according to the International Shark Attack File website.  New Hampshire has never had an attack reported off its coast.   

            LaCasse said surfers are the ones most at risk to be attacked by a great white shark off New Hampshire because their surf boards resemble large seals or sea lions.  However, there is “almost no chance” of this because great white sharks exit these northern waters by late autumn and the best surfing is normally during wintertime.

            The two most common sharks in New England during the summer are the porbeagle and the blue shark.  However, LaCasse said the only recorded incidents with porbeagles have involved divers and he is not aware of any incidents involving blue sharks attacking humans.