Pregnant shark makes its way to Isle of Wight Bay

At 8’0″ 300 lbs. a scalloped hammer head shark was the talk of Ocean City over the past couple days.

“I’ve seen a lot of sharks in Ocean City and in where we surf but I haven’t seen a shark this big, in this close for so long.” Says Salty Selt, the owner of Endless Summer Surf Shop.

He was forced to cancel surf lessons for the first time in 32 years after the hammerhead was first sighted on Wednesday afternoon.

Selt commented on his experience watching the shark, saying,”It was really neat to be a few feet off the beach and to see this fish.” and “it sat around from the 30th to 40th Street area for two to three hours.”

We were able to spot the shark up close as she swam from the Atlantic Ocean to the Isle of Wight Bay, moving slowly and staying close to the surface.

Captain Butch Arbin with the Ocean City Beach Patrol told 47 ABC , “When you see that type of behavior it’s not characteristic.”and “they don’t normally stay in close like this, they’re following food normally not just hanging out in a surf zone.”

But this shark is not normal, at least not right now.

She’s pregnant and may have been looking for a safe place to give birth.

However, Maryland Natural Resource Police say the shark became stressed and
disoriented as it eventually became surrounded and harassed by boaters and jet-skiers.

In this case, unlike most, the public posed more of a threat to the shark than the shark did the public.