The spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'') is a type of requiem shark, in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Carcharhinidae, named for the spinning leaps it makes as a part of its feeding strategy. This species occurs in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide, except for in the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It is found from coastal to offshore habitats to a depth of , though it prefers shallow water. The spinner shark resembles a larger version of the

blacktip shark The blacktip shark (''Carcharhinus limbatus'') is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae. It is common to coastal tropical and subtropical waters around the world, including brackish habitats. Genetic analyses have ...

(''C. limbatus''), with a slender body, long snout, and black-marked fins. This species can be distinguished from the blacktip shark by the first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

, which has a different shape and is placed further back, and by the black tip on the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

(in adults only). It attains a maximum length of . Spinner sharks are swift and gregarious

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s that feed on a wide variety of small

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

es and

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s. When feeding on

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

forage fish Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish that feed on planktons (i.e. planktivores) and other small aquatic organisms (e.g. krill). They are in turn preyed upon by various predators including larger fish, seabirds ...

, they speed vertically through the school while spinning on their axis, erupting from the water at the end. Like other members of its family, the spinner shark is

viviparous In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...

, with females bearing litters of three to 20 young every other year. The young are born in shallow nursery areas near the coast, and are relatively fast-growing. This species is not usually dangerous to humans, but may become belligerent when excited by food. Spinner sharks are valued by

commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often p ...

across their range for their meat, fins, liver oil, and skin. They are also esteemed as strong fighters by recreational fishers. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed this species as Vulnerable worldwide.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The spinner shark was originally described as ''Carcharias (Aprion) brevipinna'' by

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

and

Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (; 9 July 1809 – 13 May 1885) was a German physician, pathologist, and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay, "On Miasma and Contagia," was an early argument ...

in their 1839 ''Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen'', based on the mounted skin of a 79-cm-long specimen collected off

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. This species was subsequently moved to the genera ''Aprion'', ''Squalus'', and ''Aprionodon'' before being placed within the genus ''Carcharhinus''.Bester, C
Biological Profiles: Spinner Shark
. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on May 7, 2009. The tooth shape and coloration of this species varies significantly with age and between geographical regions, which caused much taxonomic confusion. Other common names include black-tipped shark, great blacktip shark, inkytail shark, large blacktip shark, long-nose grey shark, longnose grey whaler, and smoothfang shark. Based on similarities in

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, tooth shape, and behavior, the closest relatives of the spinner shark were originally believed to be the

and the graceful shark (''C. amblyrhynchoides''). However, this interpretation was not supported by Gavin Naylor's 1992 allozyme analysis, which suggested that these similarities are the product of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

and that the closest relative of the spinner shark is the

copper shark The copper shark (''Carcharhinus brachyurus''), bronze whaler, or narrowtooth shark is a species of requiem shark found mostly in temperate latitudes. It is distributed in a number of separate populations in the northeastern and southwestern Atla ...

(''C. brachyurus''). In a 2007

ribosomal DNA The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) consists of a group of ribosomal RNA encoding genes and related regulatory elements, and is widespread in similar configuration in all domains of life. The ribosomal DNA encodes the non-coding ribosomal RNA, integral struc ...

study, the spinner shark was found to be the most genetically divergent of all the requiem shark species examined save for the

tiger shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus '' Galeocerdo'' and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large apex predator, with females capable of attaining a length of over . Popula ...

(''Galeocerdo cuvier''), being less related to other ''Carcharhinus'' species than the

lemon shark The lemon shark (''Negaprion brevirostris'') is a species of shark from the family Requiem shark, Carcharhinidae, known for its yellowish skin, which inspires its common name. It is classified as a Vulnerable species by the International Union for ...

(''Negaprion brevirostris'').

Distribution and habitat

Some uncertainty exists in the distribution data for the spinner shark due to confusion with the blacktip shark. In the Western Atlantic Ocean, it occurs from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to the northern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, including the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, and from southern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. In the Eastern Atlantic, it occurs from off

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. In the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, it is found from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, to the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

, to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and nearby islands, to

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. In the

, it occurs off

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and possibly the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Parasitological evidence suggests that Indian Ocean spinner sharks have passed through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, becoming Lessepsian migrants. The spinner shark has been reported from the ocean surface to a depth of , though it prefers water less than deep, and occupies all levels of the water column. This species may be found from coastal waters to well offshore, over continental and insular shelves. Juveniles have been known to enter bays, but avoid

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

conditions. The northwest Atlantic subpopulation is known to be migratory; in spring and summer, they are found in warm inshore waters, and in winter, they move south into deeper water.

Description

The average spinner shark is long and weighs ; this species attains a maximum known length and weight of and . Indo-Pacific sharks are generally larger than those from the northwest Atlantic. This species has a slim, streamlined body with a distinctive, long, pointed snout. The eyes are small and circular. Prominent, forward-pointing furrows occur at the corners of the mouth. The tooth rows number 15–18 in each half of the upper jaw and 14–17 in each half of the lower jaw, with two and one tiny symphysial (central) teeth, respectively. The teeth have long, narrow central cusps and are finely serrated in the upper jaw and smooth in the lower jaw. The five pairs of

gill slit Gill slits are individual openings to gills, i.e., multiple gill arches, which lack a single outer cover. Such gills are characteristic of cartilaginous fish such as sharks and rays, as well as deep-branching vertebrates such as lampreys. In c ...

s are long. The first

is relatively small and usually originates behind the free rear tip of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s. No ridge exists between the first and second dorsal fins. The pectoral fins are moderately short, narrow, and falcate (sickle-shaped). The body is densely covered with diamond-shaped

dermal denticle A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scale (zoology), scales, which can also provide effective Underwater camouflage, camouflage through the us ...

s with seven (rarely five) shallow horizontal ridges. The coloration is gray above, sometimes with a bronze sheen, and white below, with a faint white band on the sides. Young individuals have unmarked fins; the tips of the second dorsal fin, pectoral fins, anal fin, and lower caudal fin lobe (and sometimes the other fins, as well) are black in larger individuals. The spinner shark differs from the blacktip shark in that its first dorsal fin is slightly more triangular in shape and is placed further back on the body. Adults can also be distinguished by the black tip on the anal fin. Carcharhinus brevipinna JNC3077 Gill slits.JPG, Gill slits Carcharhinus brevipinna jaws.jpg, Jaws Carcharhinus brevipinna upper teeth.jpg, Upper teeth Carcharhinus brevipinna lower teeth.jpg, Lower teeth

Biology and ecology

The spinner shark is a fast, active swimmer that sometimes forms large

, segregated by age and sex. Young individuals prefer cooler water temperatures than adults. Off South Africa, females are found close to shore year-round, while males only appear during the summer. Smaller spinner sharks may be preyed upon by larger sharks. Known

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

s of the spinner shark include the

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

s ''Kroyeria deetsi'', ''Nemesis pilosus'', and ''N. atlantica'', which infest the shark's gills, ''Alebion carchariae'', which infests the skin, ''Nesippus orientalis'', which infests the mouth and

gill arch Branchial arches or gill arches are a series of paired bony/ cartilaginous "loops" behind the throat ( pharyngeal cavity) of fish, which support the fish gills. As chordates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the event ...

es, and ''Perissopus dentatus'', which infests the nares and the rear margins of the fins.

Feeding

Spinner sharks feed primarily on small bony fish, including tenpounders,

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

sea catfish The Ariidae or ariid catfish are a family of catfish that mainly live in marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family includes about 143 species. Fossil ...

, lizardfish, mullets, bluefish,

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

, croakers, jacks, mojarras,

grunt Grunt, grunts or grunting may refer to: Sound and music * Grunting (tennis), in tennis refers to the loud noise, sometimes described as "shrieking" or "screaming", made by some players during their strokes * Death grunt, the death metal singi ...

s, and tongue-soles. They have also been known to eat

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

cuttlefish Cuttlefish, or cuttles, are Marine (ocean), marine Mollusca, molluscs of the order (biology), suborder Sepiina. They belong to the class (biology), class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique ...

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

, and

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

. Groups of spinner sharks are often found pursuing schools of prey at high speed. Individual prey are seized and swallowed whole, as this shark lacks cutting

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

. This species employs an unusual tactic when feeding on schools of small fish; the shark charges vertically through the school, spinning on its axis with its mouth open and snapping all around it. The shark's momentum at the end of these spiraling runs often carries it into the air, giving it its common name. The blacktip shark also performs this behavior, though not as often. Off Madagascar, spinner sharks follow migrating schools of mackerel, tunas, and jacks. Like blacktip sharks, they congregate around

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

trawlers to feed on the discarded

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

, and may be incited into feeding frenzies.

Life history

Carcharhinus brevipinna JNC3077 Male parts

Like other requiem sharks, the spinner shark is

. Adult females have a single functional

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

and two functional

uteri The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bir ...

; each uterus is divided into compartments, one for each

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

. The embryos are initially sustained by a

yolk sac The yolk sac is a membranous wikt:sac, sac attached to an embryo, formed by cells of the hypoblast layer of the bilaminar embryonic disc. This is alternatively called the umbilical vesicle by the Terminologia Embryologica (TE), though ''yolk sac' ...

. When the embryo grows to around long, the supply of yolk has been exhausted and the empty yolk sac develops into a

placenta The placenta (: placentas or placentae) is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between ...

l connection through which the mother provides nutrients for the remainder of

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

. This species has the smallest ova relative to the fully developed embryo of any viviparous shark known. Females give birth to three to 20 (usually seven to 11) pups every other year, after a gestation period of 11–15 months. Mating occurs from early spring to summer, and parturition in August off North Africa, from April to May off South Africa, and from March to April in the northwestern Atlantic. Young are birthed in coastal nursery areas such as bays, beaches, and high-salinity estuaries in water deeper than . The length at birth is in the northwestern Atlantic, off Tunisia, and off South Africa. Spinner sharks are relatively fast-growing sharks: per year for newborns, per year for one-year-olds, per year for adolescents, and per year for adults. In the northwestern Atlantic, males mature at long and females at long, corresponding to ages of 4–5 years and 7–8 years, respectively. Off South Africa, males mature at and females at . Spinner sharks generally do not reproduce until they are 12–14 years old. The

maximum lifespan Maximum life span (or, for humans, maximum reported age at death) is a measure of the maximum amount of time one or more members of a population have been observed to survive between birth and death. The term can also denote an estimate of the m ...

has been estimated at 15–20 years or more.

Human interactions

Ordinarily, spinner sharks do not pose a substantial danger to humans; they do not perceive large

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s as prey, as their small, narrow teeth are adapted for grasping rather than cutting. However, they can become excited by the presence of food, so caution is warranted if this species is encountered while

spearfishing Spearfishing is fishing using handheld elongated, sharp-pointed tools such as a spear, gig, or harpoon, to impale the fish in the body. It was one of the earliest fishing techniques used by mankind, and has been deployed in artisanal fishi ...

. As of 2008, the International Shark Attack File listed 16 unprovoked attacks and one provoked attack attributable to the spinner shark, none of them fatal. The meat of the spinner shark is of high quality and sold fresh or dried and salted. In addition, the fins are used for

shark fin soup Shark's fin soup is a soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other ingredients. It is commonly served at special occasions such as weddings and ba ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, the liver oil is processed for

vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...

s, and the skin is made into

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

products. Spinner sharks are an important catch of the US commercial shark fisheries operating in the northwestern Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. The meat is marketed under the name "blacktip shark" in the United States, due to that species being considered superior in quality by consumers. It is likely also caught by other fisheries across its range, going unreported owing to confusion with the blacktip shark. The spinner shark is also highly regarded by recreational fishers, being described as a "spectacular fighter" that often leaps out of the water. The IUCN has assessed the spinner shark as Vulnerable worldwide; its frequent use of coastal habitats renders it vulnerable to human exploitation and

habitat degradation Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. The Northwest Atlantic fishery for this species is managed under the US

National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...

1999 Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks. For the purposes of commercial quotas and recreational bag limits, the spinner shark is categorized as a "large coastal shark".

References

External links

Spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'')
at

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

Spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'')
at

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

Spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'')
a
Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department

Spinner shark (''Carcharhinus brevipinna'')
a
MarineBio.org

Chicago Tribune video - Spinner shark jumps over surfer

Carcharhinus brevipinna at www.shark-references.com
{{Good article Carcharhinus Fish described in 1839 Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller Taxa named by Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle