SHARK HABITATS FROM SPACE

by Ian O'Neill and Lauren Effron

Nantucket Island, MA: Jaws Inspired

Nantucket Island and Marthas Vineyard set the scene for the fictional Amity Island in the 1975 classic film Jaws. In fact, footage in the horror/thriller was shot in the area. Starring Roy Scheider, the movie had a massive impact on beach attendance in the mid-1970's, and Spielberg's violent plot line is often blamed for casting great white sharks in a bad light, stereotyping them as blood-thirsty villains that snack on swimming holidaymakers.

Although great white sharks aren't thought to be very common in the Massachusetts waters, a female 6 1/2 foot-long great white was found washed up on a Nantucket beach in 2008 and frequent (unconfirmed) sightings of the large shark are reported.

This satellite image of Nantucket Island was snapped by an International Space Station astronaut in 2002.

Other species found along the East Coast of North America: Sandbar, Night and Gray Nurse sharks.

Image credit: NASA Johnson Space Center - Earth Sciences and Image Analysis (NASA-JSC-ES&IA)