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As the climate changes, shark species like hammerheads that generally prefer warmer waters are being found farther north.
A prominent nonprofit that studies sharks in the waters off Rhode Island has, for the first time in its history, successfully tagged a hammerhead shark.
The Atlantic Shark Institute achieved the “milestone” of tagging a hammerhead recently in waters near Block Island, according to the organization.
Hammerhead sharks live in waters all over the world, but generally prefer warmer waters. The animal’s range in the western Atlantic Ocean typically extends from Brazil up to the Caribbean Sea and as far north as New Jersey.
But as climate change warms waters off New England, new types of species are making their way up the East Coast.
“With our warming waters, many of the shark species that New England residents associate with Florida and southern states are finding our water temperatures much more attractive than they would have just 25 years ago,” Jon Dodd, the Atlantic Shark Institute’s executive director, said in a statement.
The institute’s long-running tagging program allows researchers to track how sharks migrate, how they use individual habitats, and where their nursery grounds are. The institute deploys both satellite and acoustic tags. Satellite tags are used to collect data on how marine animals travel over large distances, while acoustic tags track individual animals within a defined area.
The tag applied to the hammerhead will enable scientists to track the animal up and down the East Coast for 10 or more years, according to the institute.
“The arrival of these sharks, and the tagging of our first hammerhead shark in our waters raises a lot of questions and we look forward to answering them with our partners and collaborators,” Dodd said.
Filmmakers documented the tagging operation for an upcoming episode of “Ocean State: Rhode Island’s Wild Coast.” The documentary TV series from Ocean State Media is being released in seasonal installments through 2027. The first episode, released last summer, focused on the Atlantic Shark Institute’s work.
“Hammerhead sharks are among the ocean’s most iconic predators, and documenting this first ever tagging event by the ASI is an exciting opportunity to showcase the groundbreaking research taking place right here in Rhode Island,” Tomas Koeck, the filmmaker who captured the footage, said in a statement.
Dodd had success finding and filming a white shark near Block Island earlier this summer, after a long search for a whale carcass.
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