Shark attacks are becoming a bit more common due thanks to warmer waters. Massachusetts shark attacks are extremely rare. Only six shark attacks have ever happened in Massachusetts waters since 1837.

The last fatal attack in Massachusetts — and the only one in about the last century — happened in 2018 off Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.

It’s the responsibility of fishermen & women to know their catch. This juvenile sand tiger shark was stabbed & left on the beach in Marshfield, MA today. They’re often mistaken for dogfish but unlike the dogfish they are a prohibited species. Please spread the word. -MASharks 6/22/24

Endangered Shark Found Stabbed on Massachusetts Beach in Marshfield

A rare sand tiger shark was found ashore in Marshfield. Tiger sharks do not usually attack humans unless provoked. They have attacked humans in the past but none were fatal.

These tiger sharks are often mistaken for something else...

If you're familiar with the 1975 hit film "Jaws" you may remember Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfus) explaining to a Amity resident that the shark they caught was a tiger shark, to which the resident replies, "Ah Whattttt?"

Harming these tiger sharks are not allowed

The South Shore of Massachusetts is a notable hotspot for tiger sharks over the last 15 years, even though they are a protected species.

Sand Tiger Shark close up

This population decline was acknowledged relatively quickly by federal and state fishery managers and conservation measures were enacted in 1997 and 2009 that prohibited the retention of any sand tiger in any fishery along the U.S. East Coast—in other words, all captured sand tigers must be released. -neaq.org