Great White sharks or other sharks off Hampton beach? (2009, loans)

[DreamworksSKG]

Shark Mystery: Fossilized Great White Tooth Found On Hampton Beach
Did anyone hear about this story about the woman at Hampton beach NH who found a fossilized great white shark tooth?

That leaves me to wonder

are there Great White Sharks - and other dangerous type sharks up here in New Hampshire, we should worry about? or even say as far as Maine?

I always thought the water was too cold, but I recently heard that Great Whites and some other sharks dont need it to be tropical water to survive and have been known to come up in colder waters- I mean they're always around California/San Fransisco which has a cold current --so..?

It makes you wonder should we be careful swimming around Hampton Beach? I.e. swimming in groups - etc? not going out too far/etc?

[SouthShoreDad]

I'm sure there are great whites occassionaly going north as N.H. and Me...also tiger and mako as well.

I'm from Mass and we have fishermen catch or people spot those types of sharks frequenrtly...so why not just a little bit north. There is that warm water flow that goes North right up the eastern seaboard all the way into Canada.

Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries: Great White Shark in Cape Cod Salt Pond

The Gulf of Maine Times: Vol. 7 Num. 2 : Sharks of the Gulf of Maine

[DreamworksSKG]

so my question is , should we try to stay on the part of the beach that has more people? and not go alone? I swim alone and am a bit nervous sometimes? I hear if you're in a group of people its better than being alone because they sometimes single out the lone - "fish" so to speak
???

For years I had always assumed Hampton Beach was immune from dangerous sharks but I know better now and we should always be careful

I like North Beach , but there's less people there so I'm thinking I should try to be more where the larger concentration of swimmers is just in case..

[SouthShoreDad]

I would think the opposite...more swimmers = easier meals...lol

I don't think it is really a risk at all to be in the ocean in the Northeast as far as sharks are concerned.

I'm sure lightning poses a greater risk than sharks.

[Mrtwigg]

Sharks live in the ocean, bears live in the woods.
Swimming in the ocean is kinda like taking a walk in the woods and being eaten by a bear.

They'll judge you by your appearance and eat you if you look like food.

[NewNHguy]

Fisherman:
"What kind of shark is this?"

Other fisherman:
"It's a shark
like in the movies they got sharks." "It's a man-eater, for
sure." "I bet it's a record-breaker," etc......

Hooper:
It's a tiger shark. Very rare in
these waters, and definitely a
maneater.

Fisherman:
A what?

Can you hear the "da dum-da dum-da dum-da dum starting?

[fishnfool]

You don't have to worry AT ALL about sharks in the waters of NH or maine, or even northern mass.

There are makos, blue sharks, and threshers in offshore waters but those sharks usually never come within 20 miles of shore and certainly not into the surf line.

Near shore species usually stay south of Cape Cod, and aren't even all that common. Juvenile browns and sandtigers are found in some abundance on the southern cape but they won't bother swimmers. There are occasional sightings of other species on the cape but almost never north of it.

That's not to say there has never or will never be some other shark that wanders by (great whites are a cold water species), but it's really the last thing you should worry about.

Hypothermia is a bigger danger when swimming in NH or ME (although the water has been great the last few weeks)

[dubthang]

The key thing about swimming with sharks is that you only need to be able to swim faster than the other person.

Same holds true for bears. You don't need to be an Olympic runner, just faster than the next guy.

[GregW]

The real sharks in NH are the guys that provide "paycheck loans". They were to be illegal once upon a time. Personally I dio not worry because even with the Gulf Stream the ocean off NH never gets warm enough for me to swim.

[Valerie C]

I would worry more about getting caught in a rip current at Hampton Beach, than a shark attack... Of course, the later in the season we get, you might run the risk of a bluefish mistaking your leg for some food A few years (maybe 6 or 7, or more) there were a few stories of people were injured by bluefish in the Plum Island to Hampton Beach area (not sure which beach) Blues have TEETH, and while they're not going to shred you, they can take a nasty bite if they happen to be chasing some other fish nearby...