Are shark teeth planted in Myrtle Beach to lure tourists? Here’s the truth

Some people have speculated if the shark teeth found on beaches in Myrtle Beach were dumped there to promote tourism in the area.

A Reddit user posed the question on the social media platform last week.

“Has anyone ever heard of sharks teeth being planted in Myrtle beach as a tourist attraction?” SassaFrass203 said in a post. “I have found so many, and I’ve briefly looked.

She said a relative had mentioned seeing a documentary about how ships drop the shark teeth in the ocean, so they will wash up onshore and attract more tourists.

But Stephen Greene, who serves as the Myrtle Beach Hospitality Association CEO, said that is simply not true, at least not for Myrtle Beach.

“Sometimes you’ll see these photos where people found these like megalodon shark teeth,” he said. “Sometimes people wonder if they were brought on (the beach).”

In response to the post, one person commented it would be “disappointing” if shark teeth were put in the ocean. Another person said they weren’t even able to find shark teeth at the beach the last time they visited the area.

Reddit user BryceSki responded to the post, saying that he doesn’t believe the theory to be true.

“I find it hard to believe it would be cost effective to find fossilized sharks teeth, hire a boat and spread them out in the water to hope they end up on the beach ... At the rate sharks lose teeth, I would believe they weren’t planted there,” the user said.

Sharks tend to lose their teeth by violently biting down on and shaking their prey, according to South Carolina Aquarium’s article about Sand Tiger Sharks. It states that sharks go through about 1,000 teeth a year and some have up to 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.

Greene said he finds shark teeth with his wife all the time in North Myrtle Beach.

“That’s a natural coincidence ... they can go by them at a beachwear store,” he said. “Why would we worry about that?”

This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 11:04 AM.