Over the last few days, fishermen have reported the first brown sharks appearing in Southern New England. These sharks have been an increasingly unwelcome presence for striper fishermen from Buzzards Bay to Montauk and Long Island Sound as they lurk near striped bass schools, occasionally attacking hooked fish. The last fear years, many fishermen have shared photos of shark-bitten stripers, but no one has showed what it looks like before the sharks attack until guide and YouTuber Chris McIntee shared underwater footage of multiple brown sharks lurking around and within a school of stripers. McIntee’s video, consisting of several clips shot last summer, shows a school of large stripers scattering as brown sharks, sometimes two in one frame, move through the school.
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Commenters noted how skinny many of the stripers looked, and frustration over the growing shark problem in New England. McIntee noted in the caption that he lost as many as 10% of hooked stripers to sharks on some trips last summer.
As of now, brown sharks are protected under a rebuilding plan after being declared overfished in 2008, however, the SHARKED Act, put forth in 2025 is seeking to mitigate shark depredation.
When striper fishing this summer, be aware of your surroundings when landing fish. Use heavier equipment to limit fight times and prevent fully exhausting stripers prior to release. And if the sharks have overrun a bass spot, consider moving elsewhere to avoid feeding multiple over-slot fish to the sharks.