WNJ Exclusive: Two Dozen Sharks Spotted in South Jersey?


A silky shark swims in the 40-foot Shark Tunnel at Camden Adventure Aquarium.
All photos courtesy of Dana Patterson

By Ryan Hoffman

Sand Tigers.  Nurse sharks.  Silky sharks.  Lemon sharks.  The Great Hammerhead.  Not often will you see a collection of sharks this diverse swimming together in Jersey waters, unless of course you visited the Camden Adventure Aquarium during shark week.  

These elegant, curious, yet dangerous animals were on display to the public all week as extra cast members were brought in to attract those who were fascinated by Discovery channel’s Shark Week, a week-long celebration of our marine friends.  Yes it’s true you can find many species of sharks along the eastern U.S. coast including New Jersey. 


A hammerhead shark at Camden Adventure Aquarium.

Even the king of the ocean, the Great White, passes through Jersey waters as up to a dozen of these animals have made a summer home off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts due to exploding seal populations.  A sighting of a 12 footer was recently recorded off the shores of Island Beach State Park in early June.  The bull shark, one of the most dangerous sharks to man due to feeding habits, was Peter Benchley’s inspiration for his book “Jaws” as four bathers were killed in the Matawan Creek back in 1916 in a ten day span.
Aquarium goers were treated to a walk through tunnel in which they could enjoy a full view of these animals swimming through the water.  An auditorium displaying the same tank was used for demonstrations by divers who were right in the tank!


A hippopotamus greets guests at the Camden Aquarium.

If you felt like having a closer look, or feel, “touch-a-shark” was available in a waist high pool.  These were 2-foot long sharks taking leisurely circles around the edge of the pool, but be careful not to fall in! 


A sea turtle swimming through the tank at Camden Aquarium.

The aquarium offers many other sights and animals – both New Jersey locals and global icons alike – such as hippopotamus, sea turtles, barracudas, jellyfish, octopus, dozens of fish and frog species, countless birds, seals and sea lions, African penguins and many more.  The Camden Aquarium provides education and fun not only during shark week but all throughout the year and should be on everyone’s to do list.  

This is Ryan Hoffman's first story for Wild New Jersey.

For recent stories on 2011 N.J. sharks, click on the following links:

Share |

Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 8/12/2011 11:30 AM
Categories: WNJ Exclusives, Sea Life, Sharks
Tags: camden aquarium Shark shark week sea turtle hammerhead silky shark discovery channel Jaws
 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this post
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
  • No comments exist for this post.
Leave a comment

Submitted comments are subject to moderation before being displayed.

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.