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The true chances of being attacked by a shark in New Hampshire waters

Recent shark attack in Massachusetts worries state residents

By Brian Ward

N.H. - After a recent string of apparent shark attacks in Amity, M.A. that have left two people dead, many New Hampshire swimmers are questioning if its safe to go in the water.

According to Doug Grout, the Chief of Marine Fisheries at N.H. Fish and Game  during a phone interview, the answer is yes.

“Haven’t had any shark attacks up here, sharks don’t really occur where people swim,” he said.

Grout went on to say that he has lived in N.H. since 1970 and has never heard of a single shark attack reported in state waters in that time, and doesn't ever expect any to occur.

The most common type of shark living off the coast of New Hampshire is the spiny dogfish, which typically doesn’t grow any more than 3.5 feet long. Larger sharks such as the short-fin mako, porbeagle and blue shark live out in deeper waters and are rare to this area.

“Things are pretty harmless around here, that’s the good thing about NH you don’t have to worry about things biting or sticking you,” he said.

Shark attacks are extremely rare, with an average of 65 attacks reported worldwide in a given year, very few of which are fatal.

In a given year, a person is more likely to be killed by a dog, a snake, a car crash, a lightning strike, by drowning or by digging a hole in the sand than they are by a shark. Nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. were injured by chainsaws, ladders and toilets in a single year, while only 13 were injured by a shark bite.

In a famous study done between 1977 and 1995, more people were killed in the U.S. by toppling vending machines on themselves than by a shark attack.  

Work cited

Grout, Doug. "N.H. Shark Attacks." Telephone interview. 5 Dec. 2011.

Reilly, Michael. "Shark Attacks: What Are the Odds? : Discovery News." Discovery News: Earth, Space, Tech, Animals, History, Adventure, Human, Autos. 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://news.discovery.com/earth/shark-attacks-what-are-the-odds.html>.