The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Carcharhinus limbatus

 – Lower Risk Near Threatened

Taxonomy

Kingdom: ANIMALIA
Phylum: CHORDATA
Class: CHONDRICHTHYES
Order: CARCHARHINIFORMES
Family: CARCHARHINIDAE
Scientific Name: Carcharhinus limbatus
Species Authority: (Valenciennes, 1839)
Infra-specific Taxa Assessed:

See Carcharhinus limbatus (Northwest Atlantic subpopulation)

Common Name/s:
EnglishBLACKTIP SHARK

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria: LR/nt    ver 2.3 (1994)
Year Assessed: 2000
Assessor/s: Shark Specialist Group
Evaluator/s: Musick, J.A. & Fowler, S. (Shark Red List Authority)
Justification: A modest-sized shark widespread in warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical waters world-wide. It frequents inshore waters as adults and has inshore nursery areas, making it highly vulnerable to fishing pressure and human-induced habitat alteration. Frequently captured in commercial and recreational fisheries, its meat is valuable and fins highly marketable.
History:
1996-Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description: This shark is widespread in all tropical and subtropical continental waters. It occurs in the western Atlantic from Massachusetts to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean; the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic around Madeira and the Canary Islands and off the western coast of Africa; the western Indian Ocean from South Africa and Madagascar up to the Red Sea and India; the eastern Indian Ocean throughout Indonesia and off the coast of western Australia; and the Pacific Ocean from northern and eastern Australia, north to Taiwan and the East China Sea, the central Pacific Islands, and from southern Baja California south to Peru and the Galápagos Islands.
Countries: Native:

Algeria; American Samoa; Angola; Anguilla; Aruba; Australia; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Cayman Islands; China; Colombia; Comoros; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Costa Rica; Cuba; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador (Galápagos); Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; France; French Guiana; French Polynesia (Marquesas, Tuamotu); Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Kuwait; Lebanon; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Macao; Madagascar; Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Martinique; Mauritius; Mexico (Revillagigedo Is.); Monaco; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; New Caledonia; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Portugal (Madeira); Puerto Rico; Qatar; Réunion; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Sao Tomé and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Somalia; South Africa; Spain (Canary Is.); Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turks and Caicos Islands; United Arab Emirates; United States; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Yemen

FAO Marine Fishing Areas: Native:

Atlantic-eastern central; Atlantic-northwest; Atlantic-southeast; Atlantic-southwest; Atlantic-western central; Indian Ocean-eastern; Indian Ocean-western; Mediterranean and Black Sea; Pacific-eastern central; Pacific-northwest; Pacific-southeast; Pacific-western central

Population

Population Trend: Unknown

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology: This shark occurs on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves, commonly entering inshore waters in estuaries, shallow muddy bays, and island lagoons. Although it can tolerate the reduced salinities of estuaries and river mouths, does not venture any further into riverine systems. It is a very active species, occurring in large schools in surface waters. The main part of the diet consists of bony fish, with some cephalopods and crustaceans. Smaller sharks, skates, and rays may also be taken.
System: Marine
List of Habitats:
9.1Marine Neritic - Pelagic
10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Threats

Threats: The main threats to the blacktip shark are pressures from both commercial and recreational fisheries. Its meat is sold fresh, fresh-frozen, or dried salted for human consumption; fins are highly marketable; hides are used for leather; liver oil is used for its high vitamin content; and carcasses are used for fishmeal. Human-induced habitat alteration has also has also been reported as a threat to the species.
List of Threats:
3.1Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food (ongoing)
3.4Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Materials (ongoing)
3.5Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Cultural/scientific/leisure activities (ongoing)

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125, vol. 4.

Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Shark Specialist Group. 2000. IUCN Shark Specialist Group Red List Assessments, 2000 (unpublished report).

Shark Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website.


Citation: Shark Specialist Group 2000. Carcharhinus limbatus. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 August 2008.
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