Local shark expert encourages Shark Week education, not exaggeration (8 photos)

One of the ocean’s top predators will be back on screens in your home this week, and the real thing isn’t much further away. 

There are more than 400 different species of sharks in the world and according to Warren Joyce, a researcher with the Department of Fisheries and Ocean's Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Atlantic Canada is home to about 20 of them. 

“We have everything from small, spiny dogfish (body length 0.35-1.3 metres) right up to some larger species like the blue shark (1-4 metres), the porbeagle shark (0.7 metres-3 metres) and the shortfin mako shark (<4 metres),” says Joyce, with information from the DFO website.

“Those are some of the more common ones, but we do get even larger species like the basking shark (body length 2-10 metres), Greenland shark (2-5 metres) and of course great white shark (2-6.6 metres).”

While many of the species head to warmer waters during the winter months, Joyce says there are a few species that are permanent residents. 

“The most common one is the porbeagle shark which is fairly large and in the same family as the mako and great white,” he says. “It’s a cold water shark found year-round in our waters. They generally live out in the open ocean and eat things like fish and squid. We actually had a direct fishery for them a number of years ago.”

An example of a migrating shark is the shortfin mako shark which tends to swim in Atlantic Canadian waters June-October. 

“We will usually see them in the summer months when the water warms up,” he says. “They have a very low tolerance for temperature so they are usually found in higher temperatures around at least 15 degrees Celsius.”

There are records from researchers and fishermen going back hundreds of years detailing many species of sharks in the area.

“There have always been sharks in our waters,” he says. “But we have noticed an increase in recent years of reportings and sightings of sharks. I think it’s in part due to the technology. More people have their cellphones out on the water and are connected with social media.”

The technology has also improved what we know about our shark species. 

“Tagging has been around for a very long time, but now we have access to satellite tags and acoustic tags so we don’t have to necessarily rely on fishermen catching the sharks,”  Joyce says. 

There are different kinds of tags researchers use to learn more about sharks. Smart Position and Temperature tags are attached to the first dorsal fin and transmit the shark’s location using satellites when its fin breaks the surface.

“They are expensive, but have really opened up a lot of information to us we haven’t had previously,” Joyce says about Smart Position and Temperature tags. “They are about $5,000 – $6,000 each.”

Pop-off Archival Satellite Tags are also used by researchers. They record depth, temperature and light levels, and transmit the data using satellite once it detaches from the shark, which its programmed to do within a year. Acoustic tags are another type of tag used on sharks in Atlantic Canada. They are typically put into the abdomen of the shark and send information about its location to receivers on the bottom of the ocean.

Tagging projects give researchers the information they need to help promote healthy, sustainable populations. Joyce says currently, many shark populations are in rapid decline around the world, and more protections are needed.

“They are a very susceptible species to be overfished,” he says. “There are no regulations for fishing in international waters and that is something that has to be worked on.”

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has assessed porbeagle sharks as endangered in Atlantic Canada and have given basking sharks a status of special concern. COSEWIC also recognizes the atlantic population of white sharks to be endangered and so does the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

“The white shark was listed as an endangered species in 2006 and as a result of that people aren’t allowed to harm, hunt, catch or harass these sharks in any way,” Joyce says. “There are heavy fines and jail time if you are caught.”

Despite some protections in Canada, annual shark derbies continue to take place across Nova Scotia, usually in August. Lockeport, Louisbourg and Yarmouth all host derbies, attracting hundreds of anglers. 

The DFO says the catches provide samples for scientific examination and that they are closely monitored. It says the most common species caught is the blue shark, however there have been a few surprises in the past. In 2004 a 3.3 metre mako shark weighing 1,082 pounds was caught at a tournament in Yarmouth.

Big sharks are in our waters, but that shouldn't cue the Jaws theme song every time you are around the ocean. 

“People shouldn't be afraid of these animals, but they should certainly be cautious around them. They are wild predators and are quite capable of inflicting damage to people” Joyce says. “You can play in their playground as long as you respect them.”

The chance of you being attacked by a shark in Nova Scotia remains quite slim. In fact, there has only been one reported ever off the province's coast – and it was more than 125 years ago!

According to an online shark attack database, a man named John Roult was knocked overboard on August 30, 1891 in the Halifax area. His death was reported in the Washington Post the following day.

Under the headline “A Sailor Falls Prey to A Shark” the clipping reads, “The French fishing schooner Societe, at North Sydney, from St. Pierre, reports that John Roult, aged twenty-one, was knocked overboard and immediately seized by a shark, which was following the vessel, and was never seen afterward.”

If you think you've seen a shark, Joyce encourages you to report it by emailing Shark.MAR@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or by calling 1-844-400-7870. He says the hotline has had a few reported sightings this year including a white shark near Yarmouth and a dead basking shark washed on shore near Peggys Cove. 

“If you see a shark, use common sense,” he says. “Don't harass them, but enjoy the moment. It's pretty rare to actually see sharks in the wild.”