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Shark Identification

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Ranked #777 in Animals, #17179 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

 

This lens has information about shark identification. Sharks are magificient predators that live in oceans, bays, and saltwater estuaries worldwide. Occasionally sharks even enter rivers and travel miles upcurrent.

A Great White Shark

About Great Sharks 

Great white sharks are found in much of the world's oceans. These are among the largest predatory sharks, preying on large fish, seals, young dolphins and other sea life.

Great white sharks are identified by their triangular shaped head (when viewed from above), black eyes, outward facing teeth, and immense size. Great whites are gray above with a white underside.

Shark DVDs 

Shark Week: 20th Anniversary Collection

Shark Week: 20th Anniversary Collection

Lurking silently beneath the ocean's placid surfac more...0 points

Shark Week: Ocean of Fear

Shark Week: Ocean of Fear

Unravel the secrets of the ocean's deadliest and m more...0 points

Sharks - Deluxe Box Set

Sharks - Deluxe Box Set

The TRAVEL*ADVENTURE*NATURE line is an exclusive v more...0 points

Discovery Channel Shark DVD Set

Discovery Channel Shark DVD Set

Take a journey with scientists across the globe as more...0 points

Island of the Great White Shark

Island of the Great White Shark

"Off the coast of Baja, Mexico, a remote isla more...0 points

Take an undersea journey with filmmaker Richard Theiss as he captures the true nature of these magnific...

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Island of the Sharks (Large Format)

Island of the Sharks (Large Format)

Welcome to a tropical Pacific paradise where beaut more...0 points

Search for the Great Sharks

Search for the Great Sharks

SEARCH FOR GREAT SHARKS

Digitally mastered from th more...0 points

Digitally mastered from the original 70mm IMAX print with all of the stunning clarity and visual sweep that the IMAX presentation can deliver.

Narrated by Joseph Campanella, SEARCH FOR GREAT SHARKS takes you on a round the Globe expedition to reveal some of the worlds largest sharks and witness them at close range.

From the coasts of California to the remote raches of south and western Australia. The film pursues Blue Sharks, Whale Sharks and he most notorious of all, the...

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Shark Links 

Worldwide Charter Boat and Guide Directory
Find the perfect charter or guide to see sharks close up!
Pelagic and Ridgeback Shark Identification Placard
This shark identification placard from Rhode Island Sea Grant shows images of large pelagic and ridgebacked sharks.
Non- ridgeback Shark Identification Placard
This shark identification placard from Rhode Island Sea Grant shows images of non-ridgeback sharks.

Bull Sharks! 

Notice the stout body, blunt head, large dorsal fin and arched back of the bull shark

Sharks on eBay 

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Sand Tigers! 

Sand tiger sharks are fairly easy to recognise. Look for the brown color, teeth that hang down and notice how the pectoral, dorsal and caudal fins are roughly the same size and shape. Also notice the distinctive shaped tail.

A Whale Shark

 

Sandbar Sharks are common along the USA east coast. Their color varies from gray to brown. They are commonly 3-4 feet in length in inshore estuaries and are often caught in the open ocean in the 5-6 foot range.

Credit: Illustration by Diane Rome Peebles
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

Shark Identification by Color 

When identifying sharks in the field, one of the first charactoristics to notice is color.

Is it blue? silver-gray? brownish? brownish-tan? spotted? solid? striped? mottled?

Along the USA Atlantic coast, sharks with blue coloration are usally either blue sharks or mako sharks. The 2 fish share some common traits, but have easily distinguishable features.

Mako sharks can be easily identified by looking for the snout that is pointed and appears triangluar from above, the black eye and tail fin lobes that are near equal lengths.

Nurse Sharks 

Nurse sharks have the disctintive catlike face, whiskers, small eyes and fins. Nurse sharks tend to lie on the bottom motionless for long periods of time.

Rhode Island Sea Grant Shark Identification Placards 

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)announces the availability of a shark identification placard for recreational fishermen.
This placard provides information on the shark species that can be legally retained by recreational anglers in federal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea.

Please note that recreational vessels must possess a valid Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling or HMS Charter/Headboat permit to fish for sharks.

Additionally, federally permitted recreational vessels must comply with federal HMS regulations, regardless of where they are fishing unless a state has more restrictive regulations. In that case, the fishermen must follow the more restrictive regulations.

For more information see the Atlantic HMS website at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/


or contact the HMS Management Division at (301)713-2347 (phone) or (301)713-1917 (fax)

Download pdf versions of the placards directly here:

http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/bookstore/sharkplacard1.pdf


http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/bookstore/sharkplacard2.pdf

Sharks Amazon Plexo 

Bluewater Gold Rush/The Odyssey of a California Sea Urchin Diver by Tom Kendrick

Bluewater Gold Rush/The Odyssey of a California Sea Urchin Diver by Tom Kendrick

An avid Santa Barbara surfer gets into sea urchin more...0 points

Shark Links 

Fresh Seafood

Fresh Seafood, seafood news, events, recipes and i more...1 point

Commercial Fishing

Commercial Fishing - a resource for the commercial more...1 point

Fish Identification

Fish Identification1 point

Fish Length Weight Estimates

Fish Length Weight Estimates1 point

Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 

On December 2 1,2000, the Act was signed into law. The Act amended the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) at Section 307(1)(P), making it unlawful for any person to:

(I) to remove any of the fins of a shark (including the tail) and discard the carcass of the shark at sea;

(II) to have custody, control, or possession of any such fin aboard a fishing vessel without the corresponding carcass; or

(III) to land any such fin without the corresponding carcass."

The Act established a rebuttable presumption that any shark fins landed from a fishing vessel or found on board a fishing vessel were taken, held, or landed in violation of the aforementioned subsection if the total weight of shark fins landed or found on board exceeds 5 percent of the total weight of shark carcasses landed or found on board.

The Act also required the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to issue regulations to implement the Act.

Saltwater Fish Lenses 

Field Guides of Saltwater Fish 

McClane's Field Guide to Saltwater Fishes of North America by A. J. McClane

McClane's Field Guide to Saltwater Fishes of North America by A. J. McClane

A. J. McClane profiles more than three hundred Nor more...0 points

Sharks, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico: A Field Guide by Glenn R. Parsons

Sharks, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico: A Field Guide by Glenn R. Parsons

The cookie cutter shark lives in the deep Gulf, lo more...0 points

Often misidentified as a shark, the smalltooth sawfish is really a ray and may be in danger of disappearing in Gulf environs. The twenty to thirty teeth on each side of its snout work well for rooting up food from the sandy bottom or slashing through schools of prey. But the teeth tangle easily in commerc...

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Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish by Ken Schultz

Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish by Ken Schultz

The definitive field guide to North American saltw more...0 points

Saltwater Fishing Lenses 

More Shark T Shirts 

Breakthrough Shark T-Shirt - Available in Various Sizes

Breakthrough Shark T-Shirt - Available in Various Sizes

The Mountain T-Shirts are premium, hand-dyed shirt more...0 points

Great White Shark T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes

Great White Shark T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes

The Mountain T-Shirts are premium, hand-dyed shirt more...0 points

Nature - Great White Shark Adult T-Shirt

Nature - Great White Shark Adult T-Shirt

Nature - Great White Shark Adult T-Shirt0 points

Guy Harvey Mako Shark Tee

Guy Harvey Mako Shark Tee

Guy Harvey Mako Shark tee has a rear screen print, more...0 points

Shark Feedback 

lisadh

I saw a leopard shark once while diving. It was beautiful, but did make my heart skip a beat.

Posted September 23, 2008

ElizabethJeanAllen

Great lens. Sharks are one of the most feared predators of the sea. The fascinate us as much as they frighten us.
5*
Lizzy

Posted August 09, 2008