Shark Report: Salmon Shark

By: Bloody Bill

Article Category: Shark Report

I’ve been told to never get close to the salmon shark, even though I’d also been told that it was unlikely I’d ever see one with my own eyes. But you can’t imagine the horrific feeling I got from my first eventual sight of one — and neither could the governmental agency responsible for me.

The salmon shark is a large species, with a maximum reported size of 10 feet, often a bluish gray color above and a lighter shade of white below. Indicative characteristics of the salmon shark include a conical snout and cylindrical body with large jaws and very pointed teeth.  Upon first glance, many may misidentify this shark as being a great white, and although they might seem extremely similar, they are in fact entirely different.

This shark also has relatively large black eyes, small gill slits and a very distinctly shaped tail fin. Another difference between this shark and the great whites is the presence of secondary keels on the base of its tail. Considered a true pelagic species, lamna ditropis is usually found in the open ocean, but can also be found in offshore and coastal areas of the Northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The salmon shark is not considered to be very abundant according to offshore commercial fishermen, and evidence suggests that they’re found sporadically in many areas of their range. In my experience, these sharks are mostly found well offshore and in northern-latitude waters, as colder temperatures seem to be their preferred habitat. This species, like many others in the order Lamniformes, is actually able to regulate the temperature of its internal organs, even though it is a cold-blooded animal. Food habits suggest that the salmon shark feeds on — what else — salmon! Like most other sharks, it is an opportunistic feeder, and will eat almost anything. I have cut them open on occasion and found squid, several species of bony fish, and other sharks as well.

Though salmon sharks are usually found in the open ocean, they have never been implicated in human attacks. Their large size, sharp teeth, fast speed, and aggressive nature contribute to their being categorized as being potentially dangerous to humans.

These sharks are considered of minor importance to commercial and recreational fisheries alike, and highest capture rates occur in the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Occasionally caught in deepwater gillnets, longlines, and deepwater trawls in fisheries throughout the world, the salmon shark is currently listed as “data deficient” by the IUCN.

Like all sharks, they are an integral part of our ecosystem and deserve our continued respect, conservation, and admiration.

Mahalo,

Bloody Bill

For more information visit: www.flmnh.ufl.edu