Researchers look for dead tiger shark that washed up on Nantucket, then washed away

An unusual sight greeted Nantucket beachgoers this week when a dead tiger shark was seen in the shallow water. 

This tiger shark sighting was a “really unique” circumstance, according to The Boston Herald, as it’s early in the season for the species which usually resides in warm waters. 

Massachusetts Shark Biologist John Chisholm posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, about the tiger shark, asking that if someone finds the shark to let the researcher know so a necropsy can be performed. 

“We want to find this shark to do a necropsy and figure out what happened to it,” Chisholm told The Boston Herald. His professional resume includes working alongside the New England Aquarium and confirming shark sightings for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, he said. 

The dead tiger shark that washed up on shore could not be dragged farther by beachgoers and was thus swept back out to sea. 

“This is really, really unique. The bigger ones are usually down off the (Northeast) Canyons where the water is warmer in July and August,” Chisholm told the paper.

According to the University of Miami Research and Conversation Lab’s collaborative study on how rising ocean temperatures will affect the tiger shark species, the entire population is starting to change its movement patterns and is hundreds of miles more north than it was historically known to be. 

Research shows that these migration shifts can also affect ecological imbalances by changing the area’s prey-predator patterns. 

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