A porbeagle shark spotted near Narragansett beached itself after sightings at Salty Brine State Beach and later in Point Judith Pond, where it died. NOAA conducted a necropsy, and researchers said it posed no danger to people who reported it.
For a stretch of Rhode Island coastline, the first hint came from a breakwater—then the message spread through the shallow, quiet maze of local ponds.
Over the weekend. several Rhode Island residents reported a shark sighting that began at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett on Saturday afternoon. The Atlantic Shark Institute. a local research nonprofit. later documented those observations and said the sightings ultimately led to a porbeagle shark that beached itself and died Sunday afternoon.
The path of the animal was unusual, and it unfolded in stages. Witnesses said the shark was initially found wedged in rocks by the breakwater. It was freed, then swam in circles. Eventually. it moved into the shallow waters of Point Judith Pond and headed toward Billington Cove. where it beached and died the next day.
Researchers said they presumed it was the same shark during both sets of sightings. They also said porbeagles aren’t as rare in New England waters as other shark types. because the species prefers colder water. But a porbeagle swimming that far into Point Judith Pond is described as a first for the Atlantic Shark Institute.
The nonprofit linked the timing to seasonal change. Dodd said the shark was likely moving north to track colder water as summer approaches and temperatures rise.
After it died, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) performed a necropsy and towed the shark out to sea.
For the people who spotted it. the incident carried its own tension—water can feel too calm right up until something large and unfamiliar appears. Yet Dodd said the shark never presented a danger to the people who spotted it. He pointed out that of the near-1. 000 shark attacks documented in the International Shark Attack File. only two involved porbeagles. and neither were fatal.
Rhode Island Narragansett Point Judith Pond porbeagle shark Atlantic Shark Institute NOAA necropsy shark sightings