Possible Shark Bite Reported on Martha’s Vineyard in Rare Ocean Incident

Something, perhaps a shark, took a bite out of a woman's leg in the water off Norton Point near South Beach on Martha's Vineyard on Monday. What chomped is unclear at this point, but town officials say the teeth marks are consistent with a shark bite.

Edgartown Town Administrator James M. Hagerty posted to Facebook that a woman in her late 20s "sustained wounds consistent with a bite from a marine animal."

"No shark or other marine animal was observed or confirmed in connection with the incident," Hagerty said. He said that based on the nature of the wounds, "the wounds were considered consistent with a potential shark bite."

A History of Rare Encounters

What makes this interesting is that shark bites and interaction on Martha's Vineyard are extremely rare. In fact, there is only one recorded case of a shark biting a human. It just doesn't happen often.

"In contrast, an exploration of the Gazette news archives reveals one shark bite of a human on the Vineyard," reported the Vineyard Gazette. According to the paper, it happened in 1989, at Wasque, when "a brown shark being reeled in by a fisherman bit a man wading nearby in the leg."

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The Gazette said the man lived "and was sewn up at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital."

The Jaws Legacy and Regional Reality

Since the film Jaws was released in 1975, with portions filmed on Martha's Vineyard, the island that is a draw for the rich and famous has gained a reputation as a shark feeding ground with human swimmers the main course.

READ MORE: New Bedford's Connection to the Classic Film Jaws

Nantucket residents have certainly had interesting encounters with sharks. Sharks have also found their way near the mainland shores of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in recent years.

Martha's Vineyard Has Only Had One Confirmed Human Shark Bite

There were two shark attacks in Massachusetts waters in 2018, and one of them was fatal. In September of that year, a man was killed by a shark while boogie boarding off Wellfleet in what was the first fatal shark attack in Massachusetts since 1936.

The other, non-fatal incident involved a swimmer in Truro and occurred in August 2018.

When to Keep Your Guard Up

Just a word to the wise: if you are thinking of tempting fate, sharks tend to gravitate to the south shores of Martha's Vineyard in August and September in hot pursuit of seals and other ocean munchies. If there is a time to keep your shark meter focused while swimming off the island, this is that time.

READ MORE: Hammerhead Shark Tagged Off Rhode Island for the First Time

The woman bitten in Monday's incident did not lose her leg and is expected to recover fully.