Living Sharks Museum

06/19/2026

Living Sharks Museum will be CLOSED this weekend (6/20-21) as we are special guests at the Return to Amity events on Martha’s Vineyard!

Normal hours will resume next week. Apologies for any inconveniences!

06/08/2026

World Ocean Day! 🦈🌊 What you can do every day:

🔹Document. See concerning behavior by marinelife or humans? Take notes! Report the trends. Sometimes something small isn’t small at all.

🔹Use your voice. Stand up for vulnerable marinelife and habitats. Choose your platform carefully to assess if your efforts will have a functional impact.

🔹Follow the facts. In a world of virtual bombardment, it’s easy to be influenced by skewed information. Investigate the sources!

🔹Get political. Most action takes foot in policy. Be open to learning all perspectives of each issue and the impacts of decision-making.

🔹Discover your own ocean story. No matter where you live, the ocean has provided for you and you have a personal connection to it. Learn to tell that story and seek out new chapters.

🔹Give back. Find ways in your community to improve ocean health, through daily commitments and acts of conservation. Protect your watersheds, recycle or make smart seafood choices.

Share this message and make waves!
Words & Image by Keith M. Cowley

05/17/2026

A Porbeagle Shark stranded this morning up near Billington in Point Judith Pond here in Rhode Island. A rescue attempted by the fishermen who discovered it, Bill Huggins, but it did not survive. A necropsy was conducted before being towed back out to sea.

Video shared with permission.

04/17/2026

A lot happening behind the scenes… Living Sharks Museum has been getting a refresh!

Bringing our shark research and conservation collection back to the forefront with some incredible new additions. Crazy to think that it’s been 9 years open to the public. Keep an eye out for our soft re-opening evening event on May 1st!

02/11/2026

Trump ends Obama-era restrictions on commercial fishing in protected area off New England…

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation reopening a huge swath of the Atlantic to commercial fishing.

01/31/2026

01/06/2026

Huge thank you to The Daily Jaws for this feature about Living Sharks Museum’s Jaws 50th Anniversary Exhibition, how we got here, and what’s next! 🦈

You can find the article on The Daily Jaws here:

The 50th anniversary of Jaws may have brought the fans back out in droves, but one New England researcher and shark historian has been quietly building a lifetime legacy in the form of America’s first shark history museum. His extensive Jaws collection has been a sleeper until now...

01/03/2026

A detailed investigation into these strange creatures is finally giving scientists and fishermen valuable clues about when and where they strike.

01/02/2026

Sneak Peek! Explore the Jaws 50th Anniversary exhibition, home to one of the largest public-facing collections of original Jaws memorabilia and artifacts, curated by shark historian Keith Cowley, from his personal collection. This video is a preview and not representative of the entirety of the artifacts available for public viewing. This exhibition runs Memorial Day - Labor Day 2025 at Living Sharks Museum, America’s First Shark History Museum located in coastal Westerly, Rhode Island. To learn more, visit livingsharks.org or follow on FB & IG .

Credits, with gratitude:
B-roll shot by Tom Shaw
Edited by Keith Cowley
—————————————————————————

Sneak Peek - Explore the Jaws 50th Anniversary exhibition, home to one of the largest public-facing collections of original Jaws memorabilia and artifacts, c...

12/03/2025

We will be OPEN TONIGHT for downtown Westerly’s Holiday Stroll and Luminaria event, 5-9PM! Come visit Living Sharks Museum and our Jaws Anniversary Exhibition one last time before we set for our 2026 exhibition! Always free admission!