Habitat of the Sandbar Shark

The Sandbar Shark

• The sandbar shark, also known as the brown or thickskin shark, is a member of the requiem shark family and is closely related to the bull shark and dusky shark. The sandbar shark's distinguishing characteristic is its tall dorsal fin that can be the equivalent of 20 percent of the shark's total length. Growing to lengths exceeding seven feet and often weighing more than 150 pounds, sandbar sharks are the most common large sharks found along the United States Atlantic coast and are also abundant in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

Sandbar Sharks Worldwide

• Living in temperate and tropical seas around the world, the sandbar shark is found in the Western Atlantic from Massachusetts to Brazil, and also inhabits the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic coast of North Africa.

  Sandbar sharks are native to the northern and western coasts of Australia and occupy a wide range in the Indo-Pacific region, including the southern coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and around the Hawaiian Islands. In the Western Pacific, sandbar sharks range from Southeast Asia to Southern Japan.

The Neritic Zone

• The relatively shallow coastal waters above the continental shelf are known as the neritic zone of the ocean. These waters extend to a depth of approximately 660 feet and are home to the majority of marine life, including the sandbar shark.

  Living organisms thrive in the well-oxygenated waters of the neritic zone, which offers stable temperatures and salinity, and most critically, light. The resulting photosynthetic life, micro-organisms and zooplankton form the base of the marine food chain. Sharks and other large predators such as tuna and swordfish occupy the top of the food chain.

Bottom-Dwelling Sharks

• Sandbar sharks are typically found near the bottom of shallow coastal waters at depths between 60 and 200 feet, and are rarely seen near the surface. Their prey consists mainly of smaller fishes, sometimes including other sharks, octopus, eels, rays, squid, shrimp and other crustaceans. They prefer flat, sandy or muddy sea floors and typically do not inhabit rough areas or coral reefs.

  Other members of the requiem shark family, such as the bull shark, tiger shark and bronze whaler, are responsible for a large percentage of shark attacks on humans, but the sandbar shark is not considered a significant threat due to its preference for small prey and avoidance of the surface.

Other Sandbar Shark Habitats

• Although the sandbar shark is most abundant in the waters of continental shelves and island terraces, they can also be found in harbors, river-mouths, and other shallow, cloudy waters. The bays and estuaries of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast form an important nursery region for sandbar sharks, as is the Agean Sea's Boncuk Bay on the west coast of Turkey. These areas provide ample food and provide juvenile sandbar sharks protection from larger predators, such as bull sharks.

Pelagic Migration

• Many sharks species undergo seasonal migrations based upon water temperatures and currents, and sandbar sharks are no exception. For these migrations, the sandbar shark temporarily abandons the shallow waters of the continental shelf and takes to the deep waters of the open, or pelagic ocean.

  There are a few shark species that live primarily in the vast expanse of the open ocean. These pelagic sharks include the oceanic whitetip shark, mako shark and blue shark.