Shark Lagoon

Shark Lagoon

As you cross the wooden bridge over Atlantis Marine World’s Sand Shark Lagoon, look both ways to view a miniature panorama of Long Island – the towering bluffs and rock-strewn beaches of the North Shore on one side, and the rolling dunes and salt marshes of the South Shore on the other.

Long Island provides the theme – and virtually everything else – for this dramatic exhibit. In fact, all the fish in this exhibit have been caught locally, typically in either Peconic Bay or Shinnecock Bay.

In addition to sand sharks (Carcharias taurus), one of the most abundant sharks on the US Atlantic coast, Sand Shark Lagoon features many fish common to Long Island waters, including striped bass, weakfish, fluke, Northern sea robins, smooth dogfish, and clearnose skate. The exhibit even features the endangered Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus), caught in Shinnecock Bay.

Shark Lagoon