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Oceanic Whitetip Shark

The oceanic whitetip shark is one of the most widely ranging sharks, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters.

 

A relatively large shark, they can grow up to 4 meters (13 feet) long, although most individuals are smaller than that. The oceanic whitetip shark gets its name from the white tips of its fins, which are distinctly rounded, rather than pointed like in many other shark species.  

They are a migratory species, traveling throughout the year in search of warmer waters and food. As a species that is always on the move, the oceanic whitetip shark is an opportunistic feeder, eating a variety of bony fishes including dolphinfish, marlin, and tuna, as well as sea turtles, stingrays, seabirds, crustaceans, and squid.  

Though typically oceanic whitetip sharks live solitary lives, they will come together in groups to hunt schools of fish and frequently are part of “feeding frenzies,” where mixed groups of sharks feed on a single source of prey at a time. Like other sharks, the oceanic whitetip shark detects its prey using special electroreceptor organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini, which let the shark sense electrical fields given off by other species. 

 

 

These sharks reproduce rather slowly, giving birth every other year to litters ranging from 1 to 14 individuals. This low reproductive rate combined with human-made threats, have resulted in the oceanic whitetip shark being globally considered critically endangered.  

BYCATCH 

Due to their naturally inquisitive nature that increases their catchability, the oceanic whitetip shark is caught globally as target and bycatch by commercial and small-scale fisheries. While most bycatch occurs from commercial pelagic fleets in offshore or high-seas waters, they are also captured by longlines, gillnets, trammel nets, and sometimes trawls in areas with narrow continental shelves. 

SHARK FIN TRADE 

They are also often retained for their fins, and sometimes meat to sell in the global shark fin trade. These sharks have a particularly long dorsal fin, a characteristic that often leads to their demise. Their fins are then sold in the shark fin trade to be used in dishes such as shark fin soup.  

 

 

In recent years, Oceana also successfully campaigned to ban the trade and sale of shark fins in the United States. But saving sharks requires global protections and dedicated enforcement of them. 

Learn more about Oceana’s campaigns to safeguard ocean habitat and promote responsible fishing practices that protect sharks from bycatch.  

 

 

 

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