Nate Rouette and his brother Nelson set out on a shark fishing trip in Cape Cod with the hope of an exciting catch. They were taken aback when they landed a tropical species known for devouring anything it can fit into its mouth. The brothers, both seasoned sport fishermen from Massachusetts, released a young tiger shark they caught from the beach in late July.
The five-foot tiger shark is typically found in warmer waters, like the Caribbean Sea. Its presence near Falmouth, Massachusetts, signals the warming of oceans due to climate change, according to scientists. The late-night catch thrilled Nate and Nelson after spending hours looking for the more prevalent brown sharks.
“I saw the horizontal lines, indicating it was a tiger shark, which was amazing,” Nate, who works as a social media manager for On The Water magazine, recalled. “I immediately shouted to my brother, ‘It’s a tiger, it’s a tiger shark!’ He couldn’t believe it.”
Their catch was a juvenile of a species that can grow over 15 feet and weigh up to 1,400 pounds. Tiger sharks are known to feed on various marine life and are infamous for consuming objects like old license plates and shoes, which are sometimes found in their stomachs. Although more dangerous to humans than most shark species, fatal bites are uncommon.
John Chisholm, an adjunct scientist at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, noted that young tiger sharks have been appearing more frequently in northern waters. He attributed this to the warming seas making the Atlantic Ocean off New England more accommodating. “Perhaps they are coming up here because the conditions are suitable. There’s food, there are warm waters,” Chisholm said. “It might be becoming a nursery—it’s one of the aspects we need to investigate.”
Scientists have observed that sea life, including other shark species, has been shifting northward as the waters warm. Sightings of great white sharks off Cape Cod have increased and have also been reported off New Hampshire and Maine. Factors like a rise in seal populations, which are prey for great whites, have contributed to this trend. Black sea bass and other marine animals are also migrating north due to warming oceans.
For the Rouette brothers, encountering a tiger shark was a memorable experience. Nate acknowledged that the sighting reminded him of the effects of climate change. “People are definitely noticing more species that indicate that,” Nate commented.