Jaws news report 4

In a press release from Amity Chief of Police Martin Brody, the shark that has caused the deaths of Christine Watson and Alex Kintner has been caught and killed.

The shark was caught by fishermen Mike Swenson from Medford, Ma.  It was One mile south-southwest of Amity.  Swenson will be receiving the reward of $3,000.

Matt Hooper, a marine biologist from the Oceanographic Institute, Identified the shark as a nurse shark.  Weighing 875 pounds and 11 feet long, nurse sharks, the email stated that nurse sharks are one of the most brutal and violent of all sharks.

Brody stated in the press release that residents of Amity can now rest easy and that all of the beaches will be opened to the public.

“Of course all the beaches throughout our beautiful island will reopen immediately just in time for the flood of visitors just in time for the Fourth of July weekend,” Brody stated in the email. 

Despite the re-opening of the beaches and ensured safety of the residents, the Coast Guard, the Marine Patrol, the Massachusetts State Police, the U.S. Navy, Homeland Security, and the FBI will be monitoring the island.

“Islanders and guest alike should not be alarmed by the presence of shark spotters…They are simply a safety precaution that we hope will put our visitors at ease,” Brody said in the email.

Islanders and visitors of Amity swarmed the beaches, but it took some time for everyone to actually feel comfortable enough to go in the water.  Once everyone finally went in, the day resumed like a normal Fourth of July day.

There was a slight panic when Wayne Winston and Brad Caplan, two 12 year old Amity natives, posed as a shark swimming in the water among the beach goers.  They have been brought back to their parents.  No one was injured during the panic, and the day resumed like normal.

Jaws news report 3

After a meeting held by the Mayor, Chief Brody, and the Amity Board of Selectman, it was decided that Ben Quint, a local fisherman, would hunt down the shark that is believed to be the cause of two tragic deaths.

 Christine Watson and Alex Kintner both died yesterday in what was believed to be a shark attack by the same shark.  The meeting was held to discuss the matter further.

Mrs. Kintner, Alex’s mother, set up a $3,000 reward for anyone who could kill the shark.

The first question to be addressed was whether or not the beaches would remain open.  Chief Brody stated that they would be closed, which caused unrest with everyone attending the meeting.

After much debate and argument over the $3,000 bounty, set up by Alex’s mother, and how long the beaches would remain closed for, Quint interrupted the clamor by scratching the chalk board in the room with his finger nails.

Quint, who is well known among residents of Amity, demanded $10,000 for the shark to be killed. 

“I’ll catch this bird for you, but it’s not going to be easy,” Quint said.  “We got to do this quick…for $10,000 I’ll get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.”

The mayor stated over phone that Mrs. Kintner would provide the $3,000, and the town of Amity would provide the remaining $7,000.

Shark attack Side bar

While Amity may be faced with a series of shark attacks, that doesn’t make all of the waters surrounding New England dangerous.

According to the Ichthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History website, there have been 138 unprovoked fatal shark attacks around the world since 1580.  Of those 138 victims, only 43 have been from the United States.

In New England there has only been one fatal shark attack; it was in Massachusetts in 1936. 

Even the number of non-fatal shark attacks is low.  There have only been five non-fatal attacks in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined.  Vermont and New Hampshire have not seen any shark attacks.

There are a total of 54 known species of sharks.  Of those 54 species, the number of non-fatal attacks is higher than the number of fatal attacks.  In fact, many of the shark species have not even had a recorded fatal or non-fatal attack.

Based on the statistics, anyone going to the beaches of New England can rest easy.  Shark attacks do happen in the United State and New England, but they are very rare.