Blacktip Shark

The maximum reported length of the blacktip shark is 8.4 feet (255 cm). Size at birth is 15-28 inches (38-72 cm). Average adult size is around 4.9 feet (150 cm), weighing about 40 lbs. (18 kg).

Family	Carcharhinidae
Description	Requiem sharks
Environment	Fresh, Brackish & Marine
Etymology	Greek, karcharos, -ou = cutting, sharp and also a kind of shark + Greek, rhinos = nose
Genus	12
No. of Species	59
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Class	Elasmobranchii
Reproductive Guild	Bearers
Distribution	Global. Gill openings 5, the fifth behind origin of pectoral fin. Small to large sharks with round eyes, internal nictitating eyelids, no nasoral grooves or barbels, usually no spiracles. Teeth usually bladelike with one cusp. Development usually viviparous with young born fully developed. Includes several dangerous species, but most prefer to avoid divers.

Small Blacktip

The Blacktip inhabits shallow coastal waters and estuaries and offshore surface waters. Blacktip sharks use shallow inshore waters from South Carolina to Texas as nursery areas for their pups in spring and summer. They can be found in groups as young or adults feeding in shallow water. Off the east coast of the United States blacktip sharks range from New England to Mexico but are most commonly found between North Carolina and Texas, especially in spring and summer. An inshore and offshore shark found on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves. Often off river mouths and estuaries, muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs. Bottom associated or pelagic. Young common along beaches. Active hunter in midwater. Feeds mainly on pelagic and benthic fishes, also small sharks and rays, cephalopods and crustaceans. Viviparous. Produces litters of one to 10 young. Incriminated in very few attacks but dangerous when provoked. Often taken by shore anglers. Used fresh for human consumption, hides for leather, liver for oil. Parthenogenesis has been observed in a captive female

Blacktip sharks are stout-bodied with a moderately long and pointed snout. They lack an interdorsal ridge. The first dorsal fin, positioned slightly posterior to the pectoral fin insertion, is high and has a narrowly pointed apex. The pectoral fins are fairly large and pointed. There is no interdorsal ridge on this species. Blacktip sharks are one of the most common shark species found inshore off the coast of Florida. Although the majority of shark bites in Florida are likely attributable to this species, there has never been a fatal attack credited to this species in this region. Age at maturity is 4-5 years for males, and 6-7 years for females. The maximum age of blacktips is thought to be about 12 years. This shark eats octopus, squid, bony fishes, occasionally crustaceans. Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A stout shark with a long, narrow, pointed snout, long gill slits and erect, narrow-cusped upper teeth; first dorsal fin high; no interdorsal ridge. Dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze on back, belly white or yellowish white; a dark band extending rearward along each side to about over origin of pelvic fin; tips of pelvic fins with a persistent black spot; tips of dorsal fins, pectoral fins, anal, and lower lobe of caudal fin usually black or dusky in young individuals, fading with growth

Distinct pairing with embrace. Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta, 1 to 10 young per litter. Gestation period is 10 to 12 months. Nursery and pupping grounds are located inshore where pregnant females go to drop their young. Females are thought to spawn only every two years. Size at birth 38-72 cm; 55-66 cm TL

Summary of Distribution: Cosmopolitan. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Mediterranean. Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Madagascar and South Africa to China, Australia, Tahiti, Marquesas, and Hawaii. Eastern Pacific: Baja California, Mexico to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands.
Note: Distribution range colors indicate degree of suitability of habitat which can be interpreted as probabilities of occurrence (fishbase.org)

Spinning and baitcasting outfits; also fly outfits. Takes shrimp and any sort of fresh cut bait. With good presentation (Sharks have poor eyesight, and you have to put the lure very close to them), they will also hit a variety of artificial lures, especially topwater plugs and flyrod poppers; large (for purposes of visibility) streamer flies; slow-swimming jigs and underwater plugs.