A young angler had quite the surprise when he reeled in only half of a striped bass in Long Island Sound recently. The other half, taken by something under the surface according to CT Fish and Wildlife.
"Wow it's crazy man." Said Donald Eldred, of Meriden, when looking at a photo of the half-eaten catch.
He has heard of fisherman losing half their catch before, but personally hasn't seen it happen.
"That's a pretty good size fish that got bit in half and personally I think it was probably a shark." said Richard Zanelli, of Higganum, when we showed him the photo.
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He knows anglers that have caught sharks in the mouth of the Connecticut River.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) believes the culprit in the photo of a half-eaten fish is likely a sand bar shark, commonly known as a brown shark or a sand tiger shark. The sand bar shark has had their numbers decimated decades ago from overfishing.
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But according to DEEP, more and more fishermen year after year are sending in photos and questioning what is stealing half of their catch.
"For us that is a sign that the population is rebounding," said David Molnar, a marine fisheries biologist with DEEP.
He says they don't have a formal tracking system for sharks in Long Island Sound. Increasing incidents of half-eaten catch is good news -- just not for the angler.
"To know they are coming back, that's a big deal because they are a keystone species" Molnar said.
Molnar says the sharks aren't a danger to humans, but you definitely don't want to get your hand near their mouth. You also can't keep one if you catch it, it has to be let go. Molnar says the best rule on the water, if you hook something you don't recognize, remember the rule, "If you don't know, let it go."
"They do not attack humans. They don't feed on or bite us," Molnar said.
Some that work on the Sound say they haven't had any bad encounters with the growing shark numbers, just an increase in lost catch.
"We are on the water seven days a week, and we have been running into sharks like this all the time," said Trevor Berwick, with Reel Cast Charters out of Old Saybrook.
He says the sharks aren't hurting them, and the anglers he is bringing out love the opportunity to see one up close, but it can be frustrating.
"Guys are going out there to catch a trophy fish and then they bring back half of it," Berwick said.
Berwick says he understands more sharks likely means a healthier Long Island Sound, which is good, he just recommends keeping your hands away from their mouths.
"They live there too, so its not a bad thing and there is nothing against them but it is what it is," Berwick said.
