Black Tip Shark
The Black Tip Shark is named for the black markings it has on its fins. Humans have known of the existence of this shark since 1839. It sometimes is known by other names, such as Small Blacktip, Blackfin, Black-Tipped, or Spot-Fin Ground shark. It lives around the world in tropical and subtropical waters, but is most abundant in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
A Black Tip Shark has a long, pointed snout and is wide-bodied for a shark. It is often confused with a Spinner Shark but the Spinner has a dark tips on its anal fins and the Black Tip does not. The Black Tip Shark’s markings are on its dorsal, pectoral, pelvic fins and caudal lobe. The color of its body is bluish-gray to brown. It has a white band on its flank and its stomach is also white.
An adult Black Tip Shark is approximately five feet long and weighs forty pounds. Scientists believe that they are not mature to reproduce until the age of 4-5 in males and 6-7 in females. This doesn’t give them a lot of time to mate as most adults die when they are about twelve years old. Gestation is between ten and twelve months and they give birth to live young.
The diet of this shark consists of many small fish such as sardines, herring, anchovies, catfish, flatfishes, trigger fish, and larger species, such as skates, rays, dusky sharks, sharpnose and dogfish sharks. The Black Tip Shark is eaten by humans and is caught by commercial fisheries. Some of the catches are turned into fish meal, while the fins are sold to buyers in Asia. They are also caught by sport fishermen. The largest one every caught weighed over eighty pounds.
The Black Tip Shark is the most common shark found on the Florida coast. As such, it is responsible for roughly 16% of the shark bites occurring in Florida. None of these bites has ever been fatal. The shark is common all along the East Coast from New England to Mexico, with the biggest numbers being found in between North Carolina and Texas. The Black Tip gives birth in the shallow waters of bays and estuaries, which is one of the reasons they are often seen by humans. The mother and young stay in these types of waters for at least a year after giving birth.
The Black Tip Shark on the East Coast of the United States is managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service because the shark is fished commercially. The species is considered well-managed as the fish catch is mostly of sharks well over the minimum size need to reproduce. They are not fished commercially on the U.S. Pacific Coast.