Blacktip Shark Species Profile
Blacktip Shark – Carcharhinus limbatus
Habitat – The blacktip shark inhabits warm-temperate and tropical waters worldwide. This species occurs near shore and within estuaries, though they prefer to remain in higher-salinity parts of the estuary closer to the ocean. Blacktip sharks migrate into the Chesapeake Bay region during the summer, occurring close to shore near Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore, within the coastal lagoons along the Eastern Shore, and within the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Size – Blacktip sharks can reach 9 feet in length, though most are 6 feet or less. Juveniles are 2-2.5 feet in length at birth.
Ecology – The Blacktip shark is an active and social species. Huge schools of migrating blacktip sharks have been photographed from the air off of Florida, where they overwinter. In the spring they migrate northward through North Carolina and Virginia waters and have been documented as far north as Long Island during warmer than average summers. Another mass migration occurs during the fall as the sharks return to southern Florida and Caribbean waters. Blacktip sharks feed very actively and can be seen making spinning leaps out of the water as they chase prey. Their primary prey species are schooling fishes such as Atlantic menhaden, striped mullet, spot, and Atlantic croaker, though they will also feed on larger prey such as red drum, Spanish mackerel, small coastal sharks including Atlantic sharpnose and bonnethead sharks, and cownose rays. Blacktip sharks give birth in southern estuaries from South Carolina to Florida, where the juveniles take shelter from larger sharks in shallow water.
Research Significance – Blacktip sharks are among the most mobile species occurring in Chesapeake Bay, and tracking their movements may reveal which factors bring this wide-ranging species into the estuary and help identify other important stops as they travel along the U.S. east coast. Blacktip shark migrations are thought to be driven by ocean temperatures and the movements of their prey, both of which may be altered by climate change. Tracking their movements may show evidence for climate-driven range shifts, and may also show relationships with the movements of their prey.
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