Shark Species

Shark Species
Common Human Encounters

Experts caution sea-goers to beware of sharks 6 feet or longer due to the damage they can
cause to humans in a single bite. Among the species that grow to this size and have been
known to attack humans are bull sharks, tiger sharks, and great white sharks. However,
these are not the predominant shark species that a person is likely to come across in the
surf zone at the beach in the United States. In fact, about 90 percent of human-shark
encounters are with smaller species of sharks not normally implicated in fatal attacks.

One challenge in identifying sharks that attack humans is that people don’t always get a
good look at the shark in the water. Even if they do, they usually do not know what kind of
shark it was. Often, experts use the bite pattern to determine the responsible species and
are sometimes able to extract teeth samples from the bite area, which helps identify the
species.

Shark Species Most Commonly Found in the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico Surf Zone

Blacktip Shark
Blacknose
Shark

Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
Spinner
Shark

Sand Tiger – often encountered by divers in deeper waters

Finetooth Shark (below North Carolina)
Perspective

Lemon & Nurse Sharks (Florida Keys)


Bonnethead (Gulf of Mexico)
Between 1670

Bull Shark

Tiger Shark
and 2005, only

Hammerhead Sharks
55 shark fatalities

Caribbean Reef Sharks

have been
Shark Species Most Commonly Found in the Surf Zone and Around
Islands of the West Coast and Northern California
reported in the
Leopard
Shark
United States out
Smoothhound
Shark
Shovelnose
Guitarfish
of 911 total

Juvenile Thresher Shark

Angel Shark (occasionally)
attacks.
Great White Shark (rare in surf except near seal or sea lion colonies)

Shark Species Most Commonly Found in the Surf Zone, Hawaii
Tiger
Shark

Gray Reef Shark

Whitetip Reef Shark





Source: Burgess, International Shark Attack File and NOAA Fisheries
For Further Information Contact: (301) 713-2347

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