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Image Gallery: Swimming with Sharks

For nearly 30 years, National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all around the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilirating experiences.

 

An oceanic whitetip shark swims near a biologist in the Bahamas.
A blue shark, with a copepod attached to its dorsal fin, coasts through waters near New England.
A lemon shark pup swims through its shallow mangrove nursery off the coast of Bimini Island in the Bahamas.
A male great hammerhead shark swims just below the surface of the water in the Bahamas at sunset.
Three bar jacks and a female tiger shark swim through the ocean off the coast of the Bahamas.
A shortfin mako glides through the waters off the coast of California.
Caribbean reef sharks swim over a coral reef in the Bahamas.
An oceanic whitetip shark swims near a biologist in the Bahamas.

Oceanic Whitetip Shark

Credit: © Brian Skerry, http://www.brianskerry.com

An oceanic whitetip shark swims near a biologist in the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry.

For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

The oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) is usually observed offshore in deep, warm waters throughout the world. The common length is about 270 cm (approximately 9 ft), but much larger oceanic whitetips have been recorded, one measuring 396 cm (approximately 13 ft). This once abundant and widespread shark faces serious population declines, due to fishing pressures. They are particularly sought after for their large fins which are used in shark fin soup. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed its status as "Critically Endangered" in the northwest and western central parts of the Atlantic Ocean and "Vulnerable" elsewhere in the world.

A blue shark, with a copepod attached to its dorsal fin, coasts through waters near New England.

Blue Shark

Credit: © Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com

Named for the radiant blue color on its back and sides, the blue shark (Prionace glauca) traverses the world’s temperate and tropical seas. Known for traveling great distances and being a swift predator, blue sharks feed on squid, bony fish, and marine mammal carrion. A red-colored female copepod (Echthrogaleus coleoptratus) has hitched a ride on the shark's dorsal fin.  The two long, red tails on the copepod are her egg sacs, each containing many hundreds of poker chip-like eggs stacked atop one another. This copepod species is commonly found on the blue shark.

However fast the blue shark may be, its numbers are declining due to bycatch, sport and commercial fisheries, and illegal poaching. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 20 million blue sharks are caught each year and has classified the species as "Near-Threatened."

 For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

A lemon shark pup swims through its shallow mangrove nursery off the coast of Bimini Island in the Bahamas.

Young Lemon Shark Swims Through Mangroves

Credit: © Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com

A lemon shark pup swims through a shallow mangrove forest off the coast of Bimini Island in the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry.

For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

Due to its large size, adaptability in captivity, and once abundant populations, the lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) has been the subject of extensive laboratory and field studies. Female sharks deposit their pups in shallow, coastal waters, and they live in these reef and mangrove nurseries for up to four years. As adults, they move to deeper waters of up to about 90 meters (295 feet) deep. They are found in the subtropical waters of the Atlantic from Florida to Brazil, Mexico's western coast, and possibly areas on the West African Coast.  Habitat destruction and loss in the coastal nurseries pose a serious threat to the sharks, in addition to commercial and recreational fisheries and mortality from bycatch. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the lemon shark's status as "Near Threatened."

A male great hammerhead shark swims just below the surface of the water in the Bahamas at sunset.

Hammerhead Shark at Sunset

Credit: © Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com

A male great hammerhead shark swims in the Bahamas at sunset. Scientists debate the purpose behind these sharks' hammer-shaped heads. A commonly accepted theory is that the shape allows the shark to scan a wider area of the ocean through its sensory organs. Of the eight species of hammerheads, the great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest, reaching a maximum length of 20 feet. Hammerheads are highly sought after for their fins, suffer a very high mortality rate from bycatch, and reproduce only every two years. As a result, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the great hammerhead's status as "Endangered." Learn more about sharks at our overview page.

For nearly 30 years, photojournalist Brian Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In a blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

Three bar jacks and a female tiger shark swim through the ocean off the coast of the Bahamas.

Tiger Shark

Credit: © Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com

Three bar jacks and a female tiger shark, nearly 4-meters long, swim off the coast of the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry. 

For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

The distinct color pattern of young tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) has earned this species its common name. The tiger shark occupies warm waters around the world, and its large size, power, and unselective and opportunistic feeding habits have labeled it one of the most dangerous sharks in tropical waters. Direct and incidental fishing catches, also known as bycatch, pose threats to the species' numbers. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the tiger shark as "Near Threatened" and warns that continued demand, especially for fins, may result in future population declines.

A shortfin mako glides through the waters off the coast of California.

Shortfin Mako Shark

Credit: © Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com

The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) is found offshore in tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, but has been known to travel to cooler waters at times. It is very strong and the fastest known species of shark, reaching moving speeds of 31 mph (50 kph) with bursts up to 46 mph! These qualities make the shortfin mako a prized catch among recreational fisherman. The mako is also sought by commercial fisheries for the production of shark fin soup, leather, and oils, and is often caught unintentionally as bycatch. These fishing pressures have led the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to list the shortfin mako shark's status as "Vulnerable."

For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all around the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

Caribbean reef sharks swim over a coral reef in the Bahamas.

Caribbean Reef Shark

Credit: © Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com

Several Caribbean reef sharks swim over a coral reef in the Bahamas in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry.

For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks," Skerry reflects on these exhilarating experiences.

Living in warm shallow waters often near coral reefs in the Western Atlantic, from Florida to Brazil, the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) is the most abundant shark in the Caribbean. It feeds mostly on bony fishes and rarely attacks humans. Despite the shark's abundance in some regions, it has a high mortality rate from bycatch and is sought by commercial fisheries for its fins and meat. It is illegal to catch Caribbean reef sharks in U.S. waters. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species' status as "Near Threatened."

 

 

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