Hamptons Shark Tagging Project Sheds Light on Great White Nursery

Marine researchers led by Greg Metzger have been catching sand tiger, spinner, black-tip, bull and great-white juveniles off the Hamptons beaches. After securing the animals, the team collects tissue samples and attaches small electronic tags that emit acoustic signals to coastal receivers or record depth and temperature before detaching. Tagged sharks are released, and the devices later transmit data that reveal seasonal movements and habitat use.

The Independent

Long Island’s coastal waters are one of the world’s few confirmed great-white shark nurseries, joining sites off California, Mexico and Australia. Young great whites spend their first years feeding in shallow, fish-rich waters before migrating north to prey on seal colonies along Cape Cod. Historic recreational shark hunting after the novel and film *Jaws* contributed to population declines; recent conservation measures have aided recovery, though numbers remain below historic levels.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements

• Newborn great-white pups measure about 4 feet (1.2 m) and weigh up to 80 lb (36 kg).

The Independent

• Acoustic tags placed on local sharks have been detected in the coastal waters of North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, with the same individuals returning to Long Island the following year.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements

• Researchers have documented an increase in spinner, black-tip and bull sharks during the summer months, a pattern they associate with warming coastal waters.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements

Greg Metzger emphasized that the tagging program aims to improve scientific understanding of shark migrations and to counter public misconceptions about shark abundance. He noted that modern technology—drones, cell-phone cameras and acoustic receivers—has increased sighting reports, giving the impression of a “surge” when sharks have long inhabited the area.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements

Frank Quevedo, executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center, linked the observed shift in species composition to rising water temperatures, suggesting climate change is expanding the range of typically southern sharks into Long Island waters.

Researchers catch sharks off NY's Hamptons, attach trackers to toothy predators

Bradley Peterson, marine scientist at Stony Brook University, described the long-distance movements captured by the tags, noting that many sharks travel thousands of kilometres before returning north for the next feeding season.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements

Local authorities have responded to occasional shark bites—though the International Shark Attack File records no fatal attacks on Long Island—by deploying shark-spotting drones and enhancing beach-monitoring programs. These measures aim to improve swimmer safety while maintaining the region’s reputation as a shark nursery.

The Independent

While tracking data confirm extensive north-south migrations, precise population estimates for juvenile great whites in the Hamptons remain uncertain. The extent to which climate-driven temperature changes versus increased detection technology influences reported species diversity has not been fully quantified.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements

• “It’s no surprise that they’ve been around since prehistoric times and they’re still going strong,” — Greg Metzger

Researchers catch sharks off NY's Hamptons, attach trackers to toothy predators

• “There’s this huge misconception that there’s this surge of sharks in Long Island waters. These sharks have always been here,” — Greg Metzger

Researchers catch sharks off NY's Hamptons, attach trackers to toothy predators

The research team plans to continue seasonal tagging efforts, expanding the acoustic receiver network along the Atlantic coast to refine migration pathways. Ongoing analysis will focus on correlating temperature trends with species-distribution shifts, informing future conservation strategies for the region’s apex predators.

Researchers tag sharks off New York’s Hamptons to better understand their movements