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There are only three confirmed great white shark nurseries in the world — and one of them is right off Long Island.
Researchers with the SOFO Shark Research and Education Program, part of the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center, set out to confirm a theory first raised in the 1960s: that young great whites gather off our coast.
In 2015, the team began tagging “young-of-the-year” sharks — less than a year old.
Within three years, they had proof: the South Shore is home to one of the world’s few great white nurseries.
To earn that distinction, three criteria had to be met: the newborn sharks had to be concentrated in one area, stay there for a significant amount of time, and return year after year.
“Our tracking data showed they swam back and forth along the South Shore of Long Island with occasional jaunts offshore for at least a month or two, depending on when we actually tagged the shark,” said Gregory Metzger, field coordinator of the SOFO Shark Research and Education Program.
Following baby sharks
Different types of tags were used to follow the young whites.
One, implanted internally, emits a unique signal that can be picked up by receivers up and down the East Coast for up to a decade. Others — satellite tags attached to the dorsal fin — tracked temperature, depth, and location in near real time.
Together, the data showed the sharks lingered in Long Island waters before migrating south for the winter.
By their second, third, and fourth years, the sharks expanded their range dramatically.
“So within a very short period of time — four or five years — they’re basically traveling the entire East Coast,” Metzger said.
Why Long Island?
The New York Bight — the coastal area between Long Island and New Jersey — offers a “goldilocks zone” for newborn sharks: warm water, abundant food and few predators.
But as ocean temperatures rise, researchers worry this zone could shift farther north — and put baby sharks in range of larger adult whites near Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.
“Adult white sharks and sub-adult white sharks would definitely snack on the little baby sharks,” Metzger noted.
Staying safe in the water
The increase in shark sightings and bites on Long Island in recent years underscores what Metzger tells swimmers: the ocean is a wild place.
Young great whites feed heavily on menhaden, a shiny silver fish often seen schooling just off the beach.
“If you are swimming in the ocean and are surrounded by or near a school of menhaden, you should get out because that spot has become a feeding area,” he said.
Other safety tips include:
- Avoid swimming at dawn or dusk, when sharks hunt in low light.
- Swim in groups, not alone.
“There have been some negative interactions here in New York waters, which is a new thing for New York, but it’s not a new thing for the world,” Metzger said.
Top: Great white sharks that are less than a year old swim in the New York Bight, the coastal area between Long Island and the New Jersey coast. (Credit: The South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center, courtesy photos)
