Atlantic Shark Institute researchers headed out near Rhode Island to tag sandbar sharks but instead encountered two hammerheads — an unusual sight in New England waters.
One of those encounters made Atlantic Shark Institute history when the team managed to tag a smooth hammerhead off the state's coast.
What happened?
The outing took place near Block Island, where the Atlantic Shark Institute was using a drone in its search for sandbar sharks when a large scalloped hammerhead came into view, according to A-Z Animals.
An attempt to tag that first shark failed because the device would not remain attached.
The next hammerhead the researchers found was a 6-foot-long female smooth hammerhead, and this time the tag stayed in place. For the institute, it was the first successful hammerhead tagging off Rhode Island.
The encounter fits into a longer run of shark observations for the group. According to A-Z Animals, the institute has logged more than 50 sharks off Rhode Island, including a juvenile great white measuring 8 feet and a 15-foot shark near Block Island that was drawn in by a whale carcass.
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Why does it matter?
More broadly, the tagging suggests warming seas are influencing which marine animals appear in the region.
Smooth and great hammerheads are occasionally being spotted around places such as Block Island, Newport, Buzzards Bay, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket during especially hot summers, according to A-Z Animals.
Following these sharks could give researchers more insight into migration routes and into how ocean warming may affect breeding patterns.
What's being done?
Because the smooth hammerhead was tagged, researchers can follow its movements up and down the coast.
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That information should help scientists better see how species are responding as ocean temperatures rise.
Those records could become even more valuable if hammerheads continue moving north. Researchers may then be able to detect changes in their travel routes.
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