"Only a handful of sand tiger shark nursery grounds have been identified, one of which is in the waters of Massachusetts," WCS said in a release.

New York researchers spent four years collecting data on sharks in local waters using acoustic tags, which allow them to monitor the sharks remotely. From that monitoring, they realized a number of sharks kept returning to the bay, showing "site fidelity."

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While sand tiger sharks look pretty scary — they grow up to 10 feet long and swim with their mouths open, putting their terrifying teeth on full display — their main prey are small bony fish, and they aren't known to be aggressive unless provoked.

"Sand tiger shark pups are not born here but migrate from down south to spend the summers as juveniles in New York's coastal waters," Merry Camhi, director of the NY Seascape conservation program, said in a statement.

Sand tiger sharks live in warm waters off coastlines around the world and have had their numbers depleted by overfishing, as is the case in the Southwest Atlantic. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service considers the sand tiger sharks a "species of concern;" they are also considered "critically endangered" in parts of Australia.

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Their low reproductive rates — female sharks give birth to maybe one or two babies a year — make it even harder for them to recover their numbers. That's why this newly-discovered nursery has excited conservationists, who want to make sure these waters remain safe for the baby sharks.

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And there's still more to learn about these New York sharks. Researchers say they are still trying to determine how many sand tiger sharks migrate to the Great South Bay each summer, and what they eat once they get there.

Sand Tiger Shark Nursery 2016 is already off to a great start! Scientists at WCS’s New York Aquarium discovered a nursery area for sand tiger sharks, a fearsome-looking but non-aggressive fish, in NY waters. Fantastic news for sharks and conservationists. Check out this video of their research. Posted by Wildlife Conservation Society on Tuesday, January 5, 2016