Connecticut charter fishing captains say rebounding coastal sharks have gotten 'out of control'

Sharks have returned in force off Connecticut’s coast, and some charter fishing captains say the rebound is now damaging their businesses. Operators in the Niantic and Old Saybrook areas described brown, or sandbar, sharks striking bait and hooked fish, turning possible catches into losses. Greg Dubrule of Blackhawk Sport Fishing called the situation “epidemic,” while Reel Cast Charters operator Mike Roy said he saw more than 15 sharks in two hours on a Thursday trip off New London targeting striped bass. Marine biologist David Molnar of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection attributed the increase to federal protection and cleaner, warmer waters after a halt to over-harvesting for the shark fin market. Sharks, he said, mature slowly and produce just one to three pups per year, so recovery is steady but gradual.