A stocky shark with a huge, rounded 1st dorsal fin, and long, wide-tipped pectoral fins; snout bluntly rounded; upper teeth triangular; interdorsal ridge present. Back usually dark grey with a bronze tinge, sometimes brown or bluish; belly whitish, sometimes with a yellow tinge; tips off first dorsal, pectorals, and lower lobe of caudal often white or with white spots (sometimes absent); ventral surface of pelvic fins, apices of anal and second dorsal, and ventral lobe of caudal often with black spots; black or dusky saddle-marks in front of second dorsal, upper margin of caudal and between dorsal fins (especially in young).

Biology

Length: It reaches a maximum size of 350 cm total length (TL), possibly 395 cm TL; males mature at 168–198 cm TL and females at 175–224 cm TL. Size at birth of 57–77 cm TL. 

Gestation Period: 10-12 months 

Litter Size: 1-15, litter size increases with female size.

Life Expectancy: Using the precautionary approach, the older age-at-maturity of 15.8 years and maximum age of 24.9 years are used to calculate a generation length of 20.4 years across all regions.

Diet: Feeds oceanic bony fishes, also threadfins, stingrays, sea turtles, sea birds, gastropods, squid, crustaceans, mammalian carrion and garbage, including tuna and mahimahi.

Habitat and Distribution

Habitat: The Oceanic Whitetip is one of the most widespread sharks, ranging across entire oceans in tropical and subtropical waters. It is an oceanic-epipelagic shark usually found far offshore in the open sea with a preference for surface waters.

Distribution: The Oceanic Whitetip Shark occurs worldwide in tropical and temperate waters.

Depth: 0-1082 m

Landing sites: Royapuram Fishing Harbour, Cuddalore Fishing Harbour, Nagapattinam Fishing Harbour, Junglighat, Burmanallah, Wandoor, Dignabad, Cochin Fisheries Harbour, Kakdwip

Commercial Value

The species is used for its meat, fins, liver oil, and skin. The Oceanic Whitetip Shark accounted for 1.8% in 1991–2001 and 0.6% in 2014, of the fin imported in Hong Kong. In some regions, the meat of juvenile Oceanic Whitetip Shark is sold fresh for human consumption at local markets.

Threats

The Oceanic Whitetip Shark is caught globally as target and bycatch in commercial and small-scale pelagic longline, purse seine, and gillnet fisheries. Most of the catch is taken as bycatch of commercial pelagic fleets in offshore and high-seas waters. It is also captured in coastal longlines, gillnets, trammel nets and sometimes trawls, particularly in areas with narrow continental shelves. The species is often retained for fins, and sometimes, the meat, unless regulations prohibit retention. Under-reporting of catches in pelagic and domestic fisheries is likely. At vessel mortality of 34.2% was estimated on Portuguese longlines in the Atlantic. The species has an inquisitive nature that increases its catchability.

References

Bonfil, R., Clarke, S. and Nakano, H. (2008) 
The biology and ecology of the oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus. In: Camhi, M., Pikitch, E.K. and Babcock, E. (eds), Sharks of the open ocean: biology, fisheries and conservation, pp. 128-139. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.

Camhi, M.D., Pikitch, E.K. and Babcock, E.A. (2008) 
Sharks of the Open Ocean: Biology, Fisheries and Conservation . John Wiley & Sons.

Myers, R.F. (1991) 
Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.

Myers, R.F. (1999) 
Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p.

Coelho, R., Fernandez-Carvalho, J., Lino, P.G. and Santos, M.N. (2012) 
An overview of the hooking mortality of elasmobranchs caught in a swordfish pelagic longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean. Aquatic Living Resources 25(4): 311-319.

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. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. 

D'Alberto, B.M., Chin, A., Smart, J.A., Baje, L., White, W.T. and Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2017) 
Age, growth and maturity of oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) from Papua New Guinea. Marine and Freshwater Research 68(6): 1118-1129.

Dulvy, N.K., Baum, J.K., Clarke, S., Compagno, L.J.V., Cortés, E., Domingo, A., Fordham, S., Fowler, S.L., Francis, M.P., Gibson, C., Martinez, J., Musick, J.A., Soldo, A., Stevens, J.D. and Valenti, S.V. (2008) 
You can swim but you can't hide: the global status and conservation of oceanic pelagic sharks and rays. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18(5): 459-482.

Ebert, D.A. and Stehmann, M.F.W. (2013) 
Sharks, batoids, and chimaeras of the North Atlantic. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes No. 7. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO, Rome.

Last, P.R. and Stevens, J.D. (2009) 
Sharks and Rays of Australia. Second Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.

Lessa, R., Santana, F. and Paglerani, R. (1999) 
Age, growth and stock structure of the oceanic whitetip shark, (Carcharhinus longimanus), from the southwestern equatorial Atlantic. Marine Freshwater Resources 50: 383-388.

Liu, K.M, Tsai, W. (2011) 
Catch and life history parameters of pelagic sharks in the Northwestern Pacific. ISC/11/SHARKWG-1/06.

Seki, T., Taniuchi, T., Nakano, H. and Shimizu, M. (1998) 
Age, growth, and reproduction of the Oceanic Whitetip shark from the Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Science Tokyo 64: 14–20.

Weigmann, S. (2016) 
Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity. Journal of Fish Biology 88(3): 837-1037.