Something's taking a bite out of fish in Long Island Sound
Trevor Berwick set the hook on a huge striper August 6 near Fishers Island, a few miles from Connecticut and Rhode Island beaches.
As he attempted to bring the striped bass aboard a Reel Cast charter boat, a predator sliced through the fish right behind the gills.
Berwick is not alone. Photos are surfacing this summer of anglers showing off heads, instead of intact fish, taken from Long Island Sound.
Something larger up the food chain is taking a bite of fish as they are reeled in. A big one.
It's happened often enough recently that Connecticut Fish and Wildlife officials are asking fishermen to share their own fish (head) story.
Anglers are posting photos to the Fish and Wildlife Facebook page of large saltwater fish, including many prized striped bass, that are severed close to the head.
It is not uncommon to have a larger fish strike a smaller one as it's reeled in, but in many of these cases, Connecticut officials believe a shark is responsible.
Tiger sand sharks are found off Connecticut and Rhode Island and are one of the few shark species that will mistake a human for a fish.
Tiger sand sharks are believed to be responsible for attacking multiple swimmers off Long Island beaches earlier this summer.
Berwick, from Coventry, Connecticut, believes his huge striped bass was attacked by a sandbar (brown) shark, which is not known to bite swimmers.
There is no way to confirm when the "chomp" photos posted to the Fish and Wildlife Facebook page were taken, but if no fish tales are being told, sharks in the Sound have been making a meal of fish whose day seemingly couldn't get any worse.