Sharks

Sharks have existed in New York's marine waters for millions of years. They are apex predators, which means they are at the top of the food chain and have few natural predators.

Sharks remove sick and weak individuals from prey populations, they influence prey distribution and behavior, and prevent other species from monopolizing limited resources and degrading the marine environment. The presence of sharks is a positive sign of a healthy marine ecosystem.

Shark Research and Conservation

Shark Spotter

We invite you to submit your observations of sharks in the wild. The observations you submit help biologists record the presence of sharks in New York State waters and also help to further the understanding of local shark ecology and behavior.

If you are fishing, boating, or enjoying the beach and observe a shark, please take some pictures, then report your sighting using the DEC Shark Spotter Survey.

New York Shark Salvage Program

Shark mortalities can occur for various reasons, including fishery interactions, predation, parasitism, as well as many other natural causes. DEC collects information on each reported dead shark, including the location, species, length, and sex of the animal. If possible, tissue samples will be collected and a necropsy will be completed to identify potential causes of death.

These efforts help to gain a better understanding about how each animal may have died, which can inform fisheries management. Tissue samples are shared with several academic and scientific researchers in New York and across the country to facilitate multiple ongoing biological studies

To report your sighting of dead sharks, use DEC's Marine Life Incident Report or call 631-444-0444.

More Shark Research

Visit these websites to learn more about other ongoing shark research in New York waters (links leave DEC website):

• Stony Brook University - Frisk Lab
• Stony Brook University - Peterson Lab
• South Fork Natural History Museum
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• O'Seas Conservation Foundation
• Atlantic Shark Institute

Sharks and Public Safety

New York's ocean beaches are part of a wild and natural marine ecosystem with a rich diversity of sea life. Humans assume risk whenever they enter any wild environment, whether on land or in the water. When in the ocean, part of this risk includes interacting with apex predators such as sharks.

Although it is impossible to eliminate risk altogether, people can modify their behavior to minimize potential interactions with sharks and reduce overall risk.

Minimize Risk of Shark Interactions:

• Avoid areas with seals;
• Avoid areas with schools of fish, splashing fish, or diving seabirds;
• Avoid swimming at dusk, night, and dawn;
• Avoid murky water;
• Swim, paddle, and surf in groups;
• Stay close to shore, where your feet can touch the bottom; and
• Always follow the instructions of lifeguards and Parks' staff.
  

New York Shark Species

Many species of sharks make seasonal migrations to New York's marine waters every year. Sharks can range in sizes from 4 feet, such as dogfish sharks, up to 40 feet, such as the basking shark. The biological characteristics of these sharks can differ greatly. Each shark species has its food, habitat, and water temperature preferences. These differences impact when and where sharks are observed in New York waters.

If you observe a shark, please report your sighting using the NYSDEC Shark Spotter digital survey (leaves DEC website).

Shark Conservation Status

Species	State Listing	Federal Listing	IUCN	CITES	Fishery Status	Overfished	Overfishing
Atlantic Blacktip	-	-	Vulnerable	-	Allowed	-	-
Basking	-	Species of Concern	Endangered	Appendix II	Prohibited	No	-
Blue	-	-	Near Threatened	-	Allowed	No	No
Common Thresher	High Priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need	-	Vulnerable	Appendix II	Allowed	-	-
Dusky	High Priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need	Species of Concern	Endangered	-	Prohibited	Yes	Yes
Sand Tiger	High Priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need	Species of Concern	Critically Endangered	-	Prohibited	No	-
Sandbar	-	-	Endangered	-	Prohibited	No	Yes
Shortfin Mako	-	-	Endangered	Appendix II	Prohibited	Yes	Yes
Smooth Dogfish	-	-	Near Threatened	-	Allowed	No	No
Smooth Hammerhead	-	-	Vulnerable	Appendix II	Allowed	-	-
Spinner	-	-	Vulnerable	-	Allowed	-	-
Spiny Dogfish	-	-	Vulnerable	-	Allowed	No	No
White	High Priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need	-	Vulnerable	Appendix II	Prohibited	No	-

For additional details, review New York Shark Conservation Status & Definitions (PDF).

Learn about the most common shark species that share New York's waters below:

Atlantic Blacktip

(Carcharhinus limbatus)

SIZE: up to 8 feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore.

BIOLOGY:

• Prey: Eat small schooling fishes, smaller sharks, squids, stingrays, shrimp, and crabs.
• Reaches sexual maturity at 4-6 years.
  Placental viviparity where the shark gives birth to live young.
• Gestation Period: 11-12 months
• The Atlantic blacktip shark looks similar to the spinner shark. The distinguishing characteristic is the white anal fin on the Atlantic blacktip shark.
• This species can sometimes be found in large aggregations.

Basking Shark

(Cetorhinus maximus)

SIZE: up to 40 feet

HABITAT: Mostly offshore. Often found near the surface.

BIOLOGY:

• Filter feeder: consumes zooplankton
• Very slow swimmer
• Reaches maturity at around 16 - 20 feet (12 - 16 years)
• Lives 50 or more years
• Gives live birth (ovoviviparous) to few pups
• Gestation period: 3 years

Blue Shark

(Prionace glauca)

SIZE: up to 12.5 feet

HABITAT: Mostly Offshore

BIOLOGY:

• Generally a slow swimmer, but is capable of moving fast
• Prey: squid and small fish
• Reaches maturity at around 6 - 7 feet (4 - 7 years)
• Lives up to 20 years
• Gives birth to live young that are nourished by a placental yolk sac until they are fully developed (viviparous); litters average about 30 pups
• Gestation period: 9 - 12 months

Common Thresher Shark

(Alopias vulpinus)

SIZE: up to 25 feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore

BIOLOGY:

• Will herd schools of fish and use its large caudal fin (tail) to stun its prey
• Strong swimmers. Sometimes observed leaping out of the water.
• Prey: small schooling fish such as butterfish, bluefish, menhaden, mackerel, and sand lance
• Reaches maturity at around 10 - 15 feet (8 - 12 years)
• Lives 45 - 50 years
• Gives live birth (ovoviviparous) to approximately 2 to 4 pups
• Gestation period: 12 months

Dusky Shark

(Carcharhinus obscurus)

SIZE: up to 14 feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore

BIOLOGY:

• Prey: bony and cartilaginous fishes, cephalopods, crustaceans.
• Very slow growing and late maturing. Reaches maturity at around 9 feet (16 - 23 years)
• Lives up to 45 years
• Gives birth to live young that are nourished by a placental yolk sac until they are fully developed (viviparous); litters average about 3 - 14 pups
• Gestation period: 22 - 24 months

Sand Tiger Shark

(Carcharias taurus)

SIZE: up to 10.5 feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore. Uses Long Island estuaries such as Great South Bay, which provide nursery habitat for juveniles during summer months.

BIOLOGY:

• Prey: bony and cartilaginous fishes, cephalopods, crustaceans.
• Reaches maturity at around 6.5 feet (6 - 10 years)
• Lives 15 or more years
• Gives live birth (ovoviviparous) to 1 - 2 pups. During gestation, the most developed embryo in each uterus will eat the less developed embryos (adelphophagy).
• Gestation period: 9 - 12 months

Sandbar Shark

(Carcharhinus plumbeus)

OTHER NAMES: Brown shark

SIZE: up to 8 feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore

BIOLOGY:

• Prey: small bottom fish and crustaceans such as flounders, goosefish, skates, rays, dogfish, and blue crabs.
• Reaches maturity at around 5 feet (15 - 18 years)
• Lives 20 - 30 years
• Gives birth to live young that are nourished by a placental yolk sac until they are fully developed (viviparous); litters average about 8 pups
• Gestation period: 12 months

Shortfin Mako Shark

(Isurus oxyrinchus)

SIZE: up to 13 feet

HABITAT: Mostly offshore

BIOLOGY:

• Fastest shark in the world with burst swimming speeds of up to 43 mph.
• Prey: feeds on fast moving pelagic fishes such as tuna, swordfish, billfish, other sharks, bluefish, and squid.
• Reaches maturity at around 6.5 - 9.5 feet (8 - 18 years)
• Lives about 20 years
• Gives live birth (ovoviviparous) to 5 - 10 pups
• Gestation period: 15 - 18 months

Smooth Dogfish

(Mustelus canis)

OTHER NAMES: Sand shark, Dusky smooth-hound

SIZE: up to 5 feet

HABITAT: Coastal

BIOLOGY:

• Has rows of flat grinding teeth.
• Prey: crustaceans, small fish, and mollusks.
• Reaches maturity at around 2.25 - 4.25 feet (2 - 5 years)
• Lives about 10 - 16 years
• Gives birth to live young that are nourished by a placental yolk sac until they are fully developed (viviparous); litters average about 4 - 20 pups
• Gestation period: 10 - 11 months

Smooth Hammerhead Shark

(Sphyrna zygaena)

SIZE: up to 16 feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore.

BIOLOGY:

• One of four hammerhead species.
• Prey: bony and cartilaginous fishes, cephalopods, crustaceans.
• Reaches maturity at around 7 - 9 feet
• Lives 20 or more years
• Gives birth to live young that are nourished by a placental yolk sac until they are fully developed (viviparous); litters average about 20 - 40 pups
• Gestation period: 10 - 11 months

Spinner Shark

(Carcharhinus brevipinna)

SIZE: up to 9 feet
HABITAT: Coastal and offshore.

BIOLOGY:

• When feeding these sharks are known for breaching the surface and spinning in the air up to 20 feet above the surface.
• Prey: Schools of small bait fish such as Atlantic menhaden.
• Reaches maturity at around 4-5 feet (7-8 years)
• Lives about 15-20 years
• Gives birth to live young with their embryos nourished by a yolksac-placenta.
• Gestation period: 11-15 months
• The spinner shark looks similar to the Atlantic blacktip shark. The distinguishing characteristic is the black anal fin on the spinner shark.
• This species can sometimes be found in large aggregations.

Spiny Dogfish

(Squalus acanthias)

SIZE: up to 4 feet

HABITAT: Coastal

BIOLOGY:

• Swims in large schools.
• Prey: small fishes such as herring, menhaden, sand lance, and mackerel, as well as squids and crustaceans.
• Reaches maturity at around 2.25 - 4.25 feet (6 - 12 years)
• Lives about 25 - 30 years
• Gives live birth (ovoviviparous) to 6 - 7 pups.
• Gestation period: 2 years

White Shark

(Carcharodon carcharias)

SIZE: up to 18+ feet

HABITAT: Coastal and offshore. Juveniles utilize Long Island's coastal ocean as nursery habitat throughout the warm season.

BIOLOGY:

• Strong swimmers and ambush predators.
• Prey: juveniles eat bony and cartilaginous fishes; adults (≥ 10') feed on seals, other sharks and rays, and are also known to gorge on dead whales.
• Reaches maturity at around 10 - 16 feet (26 - 33 years)
• Lives up to 70 years
• Gives live birth (ovoviviparous) to small litters of pups.
• Gestation period: 12 - 18 months

• Important Links
• • Recreational Saltwater Fishing Regulations
• Links Leaving DEC's Website
• • NYSDEC Shark Spotter Survey
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• Contact for this Page
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