Spinner Shark Migration

Spinner sharks get their name from shooting up through the water in a spiraling motion, biting at their prey until they break through the water's surface. The sharks spin through the air, reaching impressive heights before diving back into the water. They mostly feed on fish, and they only attack humans if provoked. The bite of a spinner shark is usually not life-threatening to people. These sharks can be identified by the black tips on their dorsal, pectoral and anal fins. Spinner sharks migrate during the spring and summer months to find warmer water to birth their young.

  1. Migration

    • Spinner sharks in the Gulf of Mexico migrate north and toward shore to warmer waters for nursing purposes. They go to the nursing areas to give birth to their pups in the spring and summer. They also follow small schools of fish toward the shore. If the water is clear enough, large numbers of spinner sharks can be seen in the ocean, often clearing frightened humans from beaches. The migrating spinner sharks rarely bother humans, so their presence will go undetected, even if they are very close to shore. In the fall, they migrate back away from shore to deeper water.

    Life Cycle

    • The gestation period of female spinner sharks is between 12 and 15 months. The female gives birth to 3 to 15 pups; the number of pups born depends on the size of the mother. After the pups are born, the spinner sharks migrate to shallow waters closer to shore to protect the pups from predators. Spinner shark pups are 60 to 75 centimeters at birth, and they grow quickly, gaining 20 centimeters in the first six months of life. Once they reach maturity, spinner sharks grow about 5 centimeters per year, reaching their maximum length when they are between 10 and 20 years old.

    Location

    • Spinner sharks are found in warm coastal waters, and they live in bodies of water all over the world. In the Unites States, spinner sharks are predominantly found on the east coast off of North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. They are often spotted off of Cuba, Brazil and the Bahamas. In the Eastern Atlantic, spinner sharks are located in the Cape Verde Islands, Senegal and Angola. Spinner sharks are also found along the coasts of South Africa, Madagascar, India, Japan and Australia.

    Dangers

    • Spinner sharks are listed as a "near threatened" species on the IUCN List of Threatened Species. The threat level is not high enough to classify spinner sharks as endangered, but they are at risk because of commercial fishing in the Atlantic. These sharks are in demand by both recreational and commercial fishermen. Their meat is sold in fish markets, and their fins are shipped to the Far East for use in shark fin soup. Their skin is sometimes used to make leather.