American Scientist

At a 2021 public hearing held by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one charter captain noted that he used to get “sharked” once a month or so in Florida, meaning sharks ate his paying customers’ fish before they had a chance to reel them in. He said that when it happened rarely, his customers thought it was cool and fun. Many would excitedly pose for a photo with the half of a tuna they had caught, and they would tell people how big the fish had been before the awesome shark came in and took a piece. But now, the captain reported, he and his customers get sharked several times a day, occasionally not landing a single fish, and it’s not fun anymore. Similar stories from all over the United States as well as Australia, South Africa, and the Pacific Islands have been shared in the news, on social media, and in peer-reviewed research on anglers’ opinions. And while I generally find it wise to take fishers’ stories of surprising ocean animal behaviors with a grain of salt—this is a profession that is famous for exaggeration—the fact that so many anglers in so many places are telling the same story suggests that something significant is really happening here.