BARNSTABLE, MASS. (WHDH) - A New York man is charged with illegally attracting and capturing a great white shark off the coast of Cape Cod in October 2025, Cape & Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois announced Wednesday.
Christopher Stefanou, 30, of Long Island, New York, was indicted by a Barnstable County Grand Jury for Cruelty to Animals, and violations of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations including illegal shore-based shark fishing, unauthorized possession of a prohibited species, the illegal attracting and capturing of a white shark, and the illegal mechanized deployment of bait.
Stefanou was arraigned in the Barnstable Superior Court on October 21, 2026 on charges of animal cruelty to shark, fishing for shark, mechanical deployment of bait, attempt to capture a shark, and possession of protected species shark.
Galibois said that Stefanou and his crew went on a days-long excursion on the eastern shore of Cape Cod with a European client with the goal of capturing a great white shark, resulting in the capture of “Aaron the Shark,” an animal that was tagged and being closely monitored by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
“Authorities were alerted to the illegal activity when Stefanou publicly posted video footage of the capture on social media showing the men using prohibited equipment, including a drone, to capture and drag the shark onto the beach, where they proceeded to celebrate and photograph themselves with the shark prior to releasing it,” Galibois said in a statement.
Massachusetts Regulations prohibit shore-based shark fishing with equipment specifically designed to lure or capture the animals in most waters surrounding Cape Cod. The regulations are designed to protect the public from practices that intentionally lure the species closer to shore, Galibois said.
Stefanou’s bail was set at $10,000. He was also ordered to surrender his fishing license, remove video and not post any additional videos of the animal, stay out of Massachusetts except for legal purposes, to not fish, to not boat, to not use drones in Massachusetts waters, remove all video relating to the allegations from social media, to not advertise fishing activites in Massachusetts waters, and to not post about the case.
He is due back in Barnstable Superior Court on December 11.
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