Shark, blue Prionace glauca

Linnaeus, 1758

CARCHARHINIDAE FAMILY
Also called blue whaler, great blue shark, bluedog

Inhabits cool temperate seas, often near the surface, but usually submerged to depths of 110 to 170 fathoms in the tropics or in areas with warm water currents, 50°-68°F (10°- 20°C). It is usually replaced as the common large pelagic shark by the white tip in areas of warm surface water. It is present in the Mediterranean, absent from the Baltic and Red Seas, and extremely rare in the Gulf of Mexico.

It is recognizable by its brilliant blue color. It is dark cobalt or indigo blue dorsally, lightening to bright blue on the flanks and white on the belly. It is unique among sharks in that the larger teeth of the upper jaw are “saber shaped”, with one margin broadly convex, the other concave. The teeth are serrated along the edges. Those in the lower jaw are narrower and very sharp. Caudal keels and spiracles are absent.

They are pelagic, migratory and travel alone as well as in packs. Fishes, sea birds, squid and other sharks are prey to the blue shark. While not considered one of the most dangerous sharks, they have been implicated in unprovoked attacks on both humans and boats.

Fishing methods include chumming with live or dead baits or trolling. Baits include squid, eels, mackerel, herring and other live, whole fishes or cut baits.

The blue shark is viviparous, giving birth to 50 or more young at a time. It does not rate high as table fare

Shark, tiger Galeocerdo cuvier

Peron and Lesueur, 1822

CARCHARHINIDAE FAMILY
Also called leopard shark

Occurs worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas, but has been found during the summer season as far north as Massachusetts in the western Atlantic and Iceland in the eastern Atlantic.

The tiger shark can be readily identified by its cockscomb shaped, serrated teeth, which are recurvate and deeply notched on the inner margin. The teeth are the same in both jaws. The first two of the five gill slits are above the pectoral fin. There is a long, prominent keel along either side of the caudal peduncle. The young characteristically have very prominent, dark brown tiger stripes and leopard spots on the upper body and tail, but adults have less prominent markings.

It is especially dangerous to man because of its proneness to attack, and its tendency to occur in shallow waters where people swim. It is a sluggish swimmer under normal conditions, but comes alive in the presence of food, which considering the objects found in the stomachs of captured specimens, can be almost anything. In Australia, and Florida this shark has been responsible for many fatal attacks.

It is a hard fighting, highly rated game fish. Fishing methods include live bait fishing while chumming from boats or trolling. Whole or cut fish or scrap meat is effective. Many tiger sharks have been caught after attacking fish being played by anglers.

The tiger shark may give birth to from 10 to as many as 80 young in one litter. The flesh is not usually eaten, though it is certainly edible. Commercially, the hide is used to make leather, and fishermen use the flesh and liver for chumming

Shark, blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus

Muller, Henle, 1839

CARCHARHINIDAE FAMILY
Also called black fin shark, common blacktip

A cosmopolitan species, blacktip sharks are found worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters. They can be found inshore and offshore, on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves. Blacktips occupy a variety of habitats and can be found off river mouths and estuaries, as well as in muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs. An active midwater hunter, their diet consists of pelagic and benthic fishes, as well as small sharks, rays, cephalopods, and crustaceans. They are dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze on the back, with a white or yellowish-white belly. Other visual characteristics include persistent black spots on the tips of the pelvic fins and a dark band extending rearward along each side of the body, back to about the beginning of the pelvic fin. The blacktip is a stout shark that sports a long, slender, pointed snout, as well as long gill slits and upright, narrow-cusped upper teeth. Anglers often confuse the spinning acrobatics of blacktips with their close relative, the spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna). However, a close inspection of the anal fin can separate the two, as a blacktip’s lacks pigment.

Blacktip sharks are extremely popular with anglers because they take a variety of live and dead bait, lures and even flies. They are an outstanding game fish at all sizes and known for their determined runs and their tendency of making spiraling leaps