About 3 feet long, the shark flicked here and there, probably searching for food. A passer-by joined Morse. There was much speculation about the species. It was probably a bonnethead, said Tampa BayWatch director Peter Clark. He also has seen them off North Shore and watched them come nosing around while he is working in seagrass beds.
Bonnetheads have a long nose and a shovel-shaped head, and are in fact related to the hammerhead.
But they don't bother humans, Clark said. The one Morse saw was big enough to be an adult, Clark said. Baby bonnetheads are much smaller. Considered a maintenance job, it's the first such project in several years, said port marketing assistant Joan McGowan. The stuff from the bottom is being dumped into a barge, which will take it to Egmont Key to help shore up the beaches and protect the old fort there.