![]() ![]() Image credit, Eric Hoffmayer, NMFS Pascagoula. The body is stockier than other common species. The snout of the bull shark is very short, its length less than the width of the mouth and rounded. Juveniles are not uncommon in the lower salinity bays and estuaries. The bull shark is not abundant but is regularly taken in some areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico. As the name implies, the shark has fine, needle-like teeth in both upper and lower jaws. This species has a striking bluish-grey color when alive that fades quickly. The finetooth shark is relatively common in the northern Gulf of Mexico. However, the easiest characteristic to differentiate between these species is the black coloration on the anal fin of the spinner shark. The spinner shark has a narrower and longer snout than the blacktip which is easily discernible when the fishes are laid side-by-side. The spinner shark, another common shark, is very similar to the blacktip shark and these species are often confused by fishers. Image credit, Eric Hoffmayer, NMFS, Pascagoula. It is often confused with the spinner shark but the spinner shark typically has black pigment on its anal fin. The blacktip shark may be the second most common shark in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Image credit, Apex Predators Program, NOAA/NEFSC. No other shark in our area has white spots along its back and flanks. If the shark is less than about 2 feet and is not a hammerhead shark, it is undoubtedly a sharpnose shark. These sharks, along with 5 or 6 other species, are often called “sand sharks”. It is small, growing to only about 4 feet in length. The Atlantic sharpnose shark is the most common inshore species in many areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico. ![]() Non-Ridgeback Sharks Common Inshore Sharks Does it have a saw-like snout? See #5 below.ġ.Is it flattened like a stingray? See #4 below (but be sure to look at the angel shark below).Is it a hammerhead shark? See #3 below.Does the shark have a low ridge of skin between the 1st and 2nd dorsal fins? NO, see #2 below.Is the skin of the shark smooth between the 1st and 2nd dorsal fins? YES, see #1 below?.How to Identify Your Fish Please answer these simple questions to help you identify the shark, stingray or skate. ![]() See below for more information regarding some of the common Gulf of Mexico skates and rays. Rays typically have a stinging barb at the base of the tail whereas skates have no barb and are relatively harmless. Everyone knows what a shark looks like but many don’t recognize the difference between skates and rays. ) In the Gulf of Mexico, there are about 50 different species of sharks and about the same number of skates and rays. Parsons, University Press of Mississippi. (Some of the information contained herein is taken from Sharks, Skates and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico, by Glenn R. If you are a fisher it is important to familiarize yourself with those species and, if you capture an endangered or critically endangered species, please release the fish as quickly as possible unharmed. To provide an indication of this decline, species that are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), vulnerable (VU) or near threatened (NT) will be indicated in the descriptions below. Note: The populations of some of the sharks that are found in the Gulf of Mexico have been declining for a number of years. ![]()
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