Torpedo Ray Sighting Form

Thresher Shark Sighting Form
Contact Information - NECWA will not share your contact information with any other organization or business. This information will only be used to verify the sighting information.
Atlantic Common Thresher Shark

The Atlantic Common Thresher Shark, Alopias vulpinus, are named for their extremely long, scythe-like tail that is used to stun their prey. The tail or caudal fin is typically half the size of the body. Thresher sharks eat mainly schooling fish, including herring and mackerel.
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Anatomy of a Thresher Shark

Use the diagram below to familiarize yourself with the basic anatomy of a Thresher Shark.
For Stranded Thresher Sharks, call the NECWA Resue Hotline Number.

If the Thresher Shark is injured offshore or stranding live, do not try to help or rescue the animal for you could get hurt. Instead, call the NECWA rescue number at 508-566-0009.

Sighting Information

Please answer the questions below about this specific sighting. This Jotform is meant to report only 1 animal per form. However, if you observe more than one animal and they are clustered together, you can group them together in this Jotform.
Number of Thresher Sharks seen.
Again, try to report only 1 torpedo ray sighting per Jotform.
Is the animal alive or dead?
If the animal is alive, is the Thresher Shark healthy, injured or stranding?
What is the sex of this animal?
See the diagram below to help you determine the sex of the carcass.
How to Determine the Sex of a Shark.

If the animal is stranding live, do not get close to the shark and do not attempt to sex the individual. If the animal is dead, look for the reproductive structures on the underside of the body that can help you determine the sex of the shark. Only male Thresher Sharks have claspers that are used to transfer sperm to the female.

Photo Documentation

Photographs and videos of each sighting help us verify the species and allows us to pull out additional information, including behaviors and associations. Even blurry or distant photos are useful to us.
Upload Images - Please upload any photographs of the Torpedo Ray you were able to collect.

Send any additional photos or videos to NECWA at contact@necwa.org.
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Thank you for sending us this sighting report of a Thresher Shark. To learn more about the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), go to our website at

www.necwa.org
The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), is an all-volunteer nonprofit based in southeastern MA. We work to better understand and protect the unique coastal marine wildlife in New England waters. Your efforts are helping us achive this goalTo learn more about NECWA and to support this project and our other community projects, go to www.necwa.org.

NECWA is also interested in sightings of basking sharks, ocean sunfish, torpedo rays, Diamondback terrapins and box turtles. Go to www.necwa.org to report your sightings.

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Atlantic Common Thresher Shark