RogerPollock Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 Long beach - Saturday - 7 a.m. - lousy surf on Cape Ann, but what the heck . . . even at this hour it's hot, and I'm here, and I'll get wet just to cool off. A lot of waiting for swells, a couple good rides. I get out drain the boat, consider leaving . . . then a few breakers roll and it looks a bit better, so I get back in, paddle outside the break (such as it is), and what the heck is that? A dorsal fin? Ah, yup. I'm bobbing around with what I guess is a Dogfish. Ok, Jaws it ain't, maybe a two footer, but this is cool! It's just floating there in the swell, and it's got these google eyes - checking me out, and seems particularly unimpressed (are you any relation to my wife?). I nudge it with my paddle - it's heavy - and with a slow flick of its tail it swims lazily, circles around me a few times. So, I float with it for a while, then catch a few rides, trying to keep an eye on where it's at - I dont' want to capzise with the thing; little or not, it could still produce a nasty bite, and I don't want to try and roll with it flopping on my face. A few more rides . . . I see it a few more times, then I don't see it anymore . . . and the tourists are apearing on the beach, and soon there will be kids in the water, so it's time to quit, but I'll remember this one for a while. Never saw, like, a real-deal shark before, just out there, and sure wasn't expecting to paddle with one on this fine day . . . Lousy surf . . . cool shark . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hazard Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Good report, Roger! I'd bet that was a Basking Shark, a surface filter feeder, rather than a Dogfish, which is typically a bottom dweller. An exciting encounter, anyway! Wish I'd been there! Cheers, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Gwynn Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Basking Sharks are over 5 feet long at birth, so probably not a basking shark. Roger said this one was about 2 feet long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatM Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I paddled along side a 2' surface swimming dogfish in Essex Bay. It felt a little weird when he swam directly under my boat, like I should maybe lift my butt off the seat. Here's a good site for dogfish info and pictures in case anyone is interested. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Desc...inyDogfish.html Nathalie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerPollock Posted July 16, 2006 Author Share Posted July 16, 2006 This looks like the guy. The second dorsal fin doesn't stand out in memory, nor the spots, but the stripes do. As I bobbed with it, trying to identify it, I noted the stipes, and first thought: baby tiger shark or something? Then noted the googly eyes . . . Having looked up dogfish and seen pictures of the various varieties, this spiny one is surely it. Funny, though, they say they travel in schools, but this one was alone. I wonder if he wasn't sick or something. He definetly looked a bit lost and confused. Still a neat experience . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcasey Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I paddled with one down off of Minot Beach, below Cohasset. I came around the corner and there were folks on the beach shrieking - nobody in the water...so I paddled up to see what was what. Sounds identical - a lazy 2' shark poking around in the shallows. He didn't seem interested in me, the people on shore, or anything else in particular. I suspect there are tons of them around, just not often that visible...yet the folks on shore seemed to think it was a big deal - like the cops should come and shoot it or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillian Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 Okay, did nobody else pick up the fact that you POKED THE SHARK WITH YOUR PADDLE!!?? Okay let's just think about this for awhile and re-group . . . . . Cool story . . . glad it wasn't me . . . quick way to have to throw away a perfectly good pair of shorts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcasey Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I believe (anecdotal, no authority here) that poking is probably the correct response to an aggressive shark (not that Roger's shark was aggressive...) They are supposed to be very discriminating eaters - they don't eat anything which is more trouble than the nutritional benefits obtained. Dolphins discourage them by poking them in the side with their hard snouts, and I have heard of paddlers who frequent waters more favored by bigger sharks who carry sticks meant just for poking. I'd love to hear from somebody who has experience in these matters -- is there any wisdom here or just the kayaking equivalent of urban legends? (It just occurred to me that we have several divers among us...you guys must know more on this...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin B (RPS Coach) Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 Hmm, a form of shark tag...I love it! Better get that drybag of spare shorts ready Incidently, these have been spotted near Fort Sewall in Marblehead as well as in Joppa Flats in Newburyport at high tide by kayakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Nystrom Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 I've seen them on the surface, too. It seems to be something that they do at times. They're basically harmless and interesting to check out. Here's the salient paragraph from the link above: "In general, the spiny dogfish poses little if any threat to humans. As the English common name "spiny dogfish" alludes to, this species has spines on the dorsal fins that can result in nasty wounds if not handled carefully. The dogfish uses these spines to defend itself, curling in a bow and striking at any threatening predator." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcohn Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Dogfish (and nearly all sharks in general) are very very unlikely hurt you. I've only managed to see dogfish once or twice on dives and in silhouette at a distance, but I’ve had friends lucky enough to swim in a school of dogfish where they are surrounded, dogfish on all sides, swimming between their legs, etc. I’ve yet to hear of anyone being bitten. Many of us seek out opportunities to swim with sharks. Next time you might bring a mask and try a roll, or even snorkel and fins and take a swim for a closer look. Ralph Cohn Elaho DS, blue & white with yellow trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Gwynn Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 That does sound exciting for those with some experience and the ability to remain calm. Me...I don't swim with the fishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcohn Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 It's just a dogfish and a small one at that, it barely qualifies as a shark. At my dive club meeting tonight two divers had stories about meeting dogfish over the past month, one had two dogfish, the other four with the longest 4 feet. They circled the divers taking a good look, but not coming closer than 4 ft. While gearing up for my first dive in Mexico’s Revillagigedo Archipelago, ~7 year's ago, I looked over the side of the boat and saw a 9-10 ft Galapagos shark passing back and forth under the boat. That gave me some pause before jumping in, landing accidentally on the shark might not have been a good idea. But of course with divers splashing in, the shark split. The sharks were actually dificult to get close to, we spent the better part of our dive time there searching for them. By the way, it's really not the sharks you can see you need to worry about. The freedivers in Rhode Island virtually never see sharks, however I have heard reliable reports of diver feeling a slight tug on their float line, typically 50 ft or more long. When they later check on a float their fish are missing. You may not see a shark, but they see (or sense) you. Remember that the next time you're rolling. ;-) Ralph Cohn Elaho DS, blue & white with yellow trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob budd Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 There was a PBS program recently where ichthioligists were diving throug a more or less steady stream of hammerheads at night. They were very careful not to disturb the "herd" as they descended below them, then filmed them from below. Not sure I could marshal that much courage, the instinct not to be eaten alive and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Well, all these stories about seeing and even swimming near various sharks are not very impressive: there is a South African (an ex-fisherman) who studies them and who swims regularly in the company of great white sharks. After accustoming them to the human presence (prodding-rod in hand) he even showed off the teeth of one individual to the camera by grasping the animal by the snout: it was perfectly docile! The secret is in first demonstrating to the animal that you are its natural prey (yes, hence the prodding-rod). In the morning he took Cousteau's team down and they warily started to get used to the sharks and to allow the sharks to get used to . Later in the day he took Jean-Michel Cousteau back out (with snorkel, no scuba) with one cameraman and they were each of them hitching rides on a huge shark after getting to know that particular animal! It was all filmed for posterity and Cousteau said afterwards that it would remain the most memorable day of his diving career. Of course a surfboard (or kayak?) may look like the silhouette of a seal; but the point is that these creatures do not instinctively like the taste of humans and they do not attack on sight -- they go to pains to investigate first. And so on and so forth. I hope you like this story -- it showed last week on PBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcohn Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I have been diving with the scalloped hammerheads in the Galapagos, very cool. They are extremely skittish around divers. You lie on the rocks, skip breathing as much as possible (the bubbles can frighten them), and wait for them to swim in. Any sudden movement or even if they notice you below can cause them to bolt. We also saw the schools above or below us at times while swimming in the blue searching for whale sharks. I have never heard of a scalloped hammerhead attacking a diver. A great hammerhead (which I’ve never seen) is a completely different story of course. Ralph Cohn Elaho DS, blue & white with yellow trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcohn Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 There is a great picture of him face to face with a shark online, i just can't find it. His other secret is to only swim with "smaller" great whites 10-14 ft. In an interview he said the larger shark are territorial and will immediately kill you. From my time reading the freedivelist I believe the South African's are the craziest divers in the world. With their risks from GWs and large crocodiles most of us would stay out of the water. Ralph Cohn Elaho DS, blue & white with yellow trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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