Photo: Albert Kok / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bull shark
Carcharhinus leucas
Should you worry? Give it spaceFWC calls it one of the more dangerous sharks, and it likes the same murky nearshore water where people swim. Skip murky water, river mouths and inlets, especially at dawn and dusk.[3][2]
- Typical adult size
- Mature at about 6–7½ ft; the biggest reach about 11 ft. Pups are born about 2½ ft long.[3][4]
- Where & when in Florida
- Both coasts, year-round in warm water: beaches, inlets, bays and river mouths, usually in water less than 100 ft deep. It handles murky and even fresh water, and young bull sharks grow up in lagoons and estuaries.[3][4]
- What it eats
- Mostly fish such as mullet, snook, jacks and catfish, plus stingrays and smaller sharks. Now and then sea turtles, dolphins and sea birds.[3][4]
Fun fact: It’s one of very few sharks at home in fresh water: bull sharks have been reported about 1,800 miles up the Mississippi River.[4]
Photo: Albert Kok (public domain)
Blacktip shark
Carcharhinus limbatus
Should you worry? Give it spaceBlacktips hunt bait schools in the surf, and the Florida Museum says they’re linked to roughly 1 in 5 Florida bites, often on surfers. Most of those wounds are fairly minor. Stay away from bait schools and people fishing.[6][2]
- Typical adult size
- Adults are usually around 5 ft and top out near 6 ft. Pups are 22–28 inches at birth.[5][6]
- Where & when in Florida
- Common along both coasts, in bays and estuaries, and often right in the surf. Big schools pass along the beaches during their yearly migrations; in winter they head south and into deeper water. Females give birth in shallow bays in spring and early summer.[5]
- What it eats
- Mostly small schooling fish such as menhaden, mullet and sardines, plus small sharks, rays, squid and crabs.[5][6]
Fun fact: When it charges a bait school, a blacktip can burst out of the water and spin before splashing back down.[5][6]
Photo: James Weaver / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
Spinner shark
Carcharhinus brevipinna
Should you worry? Rarely an issueNot considered dangerous: its small, narrow teeth are made for small fish. Reported bites have mostly involved spearfishing divers, none fatal. It looks a lot like a blacktip, so it may be misidentified in reports.[7][8]
- Typical adult size
- Adults average about 6½ ft; the biggest reach 7–8 ft. Pups are 24–30 inches at birth.[7][8]
- Where & when in Florida
- Inshore and offshore along both coasts, often in schools. Spinners migrate along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and move inshore in spring and summer to feed and give birth.[7][8]
- What it eats
- Small schooling fish such as sardines, herring, anchovies and mullet, plus squid, octopus and rays.[7][8]
Fun fact: Named for its trick: it rushes up through a bait school spinning like a top, sometimes right out of the water. Tell an adult from a blacktip by the black tip on the small fin under its belly near the tail (the anal fin).[7][8]
Photo: Albert Kok / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Tiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
Should you worry? Give it spaceWorldwide, it’s second only to the white shark in reported bites. It’s often curious rather than aggressive, but treat it with real respect.[9][10]
- Typical adult size
- Commonly 10–14 ft; the largest reach about 18 ft. Pups are 27–34 inches at birth.[9][10]
- Where & when in Florida
- Found throughout Florida, from river mouths and shallow bays to the open ocean. It prefers murky coastal water and moves into cooler waters in the warm months.[9][10]
- What it eats
- Almost anything: sea turtles, fish, sea birds, other sharks, rays, crabs, and sometimes even garbage.[9][10]
Fun fact: Big families: a single litter can have anywhere from 10 to 80 pups.[9]
Photo: Dan Schofield / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
Great hammerhead
Sphyrna mokarran
Should you worry? Give it spaceIts size calls for respect. Hammerheads as a group have been linked to only a small number of bites, none fatal, and it’s often hard to tell which hammerhead species was involved.[12][11]
- Typical adult size
- The largest hammerhead: mature at about 7–8 ft, and the biggest reach about 18 ft. Adults average over 500 lb.[11][12]
- Where & when in Florida
- Both coasts, from the open ocean to shallow coastal water, often around reefs, inlets and the mouths of bays. Some move north along the Atlantic coast in summer.[11]
- What it eats
- Stingrays are a favorite, plus grouper, catfish and other fish, smaller sharks, crabs and squid.[11][12]
Fun fact: Protected in Florida waters: anglers can’t keep one and must release it with its gills in the water. The world-record great hammerhead, 991 lb, was caught off Sarasota.[27][12]
Photo: Elspeth Pierce / iNaturalist, CC0 1.0
Bonnethead
Sphyrna tiburo
Should you worry? Harmless to peopleFWC calls it harmless to humans, and the Florida Museum describes it as rather shy.[13][14]
- Typical adult size
- The smallest hammerhead: usually about 3–4 ft long and rarely bigger than 5 ft. Pups are about 12 inches at birth.[13][14]
- Where & when in Florida
- Abundant close to shore, especially over shallow sand and mud flats and in bays, often in small groups. It moves into deeper water when it gets cold.[13][14]
- What it eats
- Mostly crabs (especially blue crabs), shrimp, mollusks and small fish.[13][14]
Fun fact: It’s the only shark known where males and females have differently shaped heads. Young ones sometimes even eat seagrass.[14]
Photo: Joseph Thomas (public domain)
Nurse shark
Ginglymostoma cirratum
Should you worry? Rarely an issueUsually slow and calm, and it swims away when approached. Most of its few bites were provoked, and if disturbed it can bite and hold on hard. Never touch or pull on a resting nurse shark.[15][16]
- Typical adult size
- Mature at about 7 ft; the biggest reach about 9–10 ft. Pups are about 1 ft at birth.[15][16]
- Where & when in Florida
- Common close to shore on both coasts, especially in south Florida and the Keys. By day it rests on the bottom under ledges and around reefs, rocks and mangroves; it hunts at night.[15][16]
- What it eats
- Lobsters, shrimp, crabs, sea urchins, octopus, conchs and other shellfish, plus small fish it sucks in while they rest at night.[15][16]
Fun fact: It can “walk” along the sea floor on its front fins and slurps prey like a vacuum, even pulling snails out of heavy conch shells.[16]
Photo: Terry Goss / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Lemon shark
Negaprion brevirostris
Should you worry? Rarely an issueLinked to only a few bites, none fatal according to the Florida Museum. It’s still a large predator that lives close to swimmers, surfers and divers, so give it room.[18][17]
- Typical adult size
- Commonly 8–10 ft; the biggest reach about 10½ ft. Pups are about 2 ft at birth.[17][18]
- Where & when in Florida
- Abundant inshore on both coasts: bays, mangroves, coral reefs and river mouths. Loose groups gather near docks and fishing piers at night. In winter many head south or into deeper water.[17][18]
- What it eats
- Mostly fish, such as catfish, mullet and jacks, plus crabs, rays, smaller sharks and the occasional sea bird.[17][18]
Fun fact: Young lemon sharks stay in shallow nursery areas for several years. Lemon sharks are protected in Florida waters, so anglers must release them.[18][27]
Photo: Narrissa Spies / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sandbar shark
Carcharhinus plumbeus
Should you worry? Rarely an issueIt prefers small prey and tends to avoid beaches and the surface. Because of its size, it has been linked to a few bites, none fatal.[20][19]
- Typical adult size
- Mature at about 6 ft, and the biggest reach about 7½ ft. Pups are 22–26 inches at birth.[19]
- Where & when in Florida
- Sandy areas along both coasts, both near shore and offshore. It stays near the bottom, mostly in water 60–200 ft deep, and is seldom seen at the surface.[19][20]
- What it eats
- Small fish, eels, skates and rays, octopus, squid and crabs found near the bottom.[19]
Fun fact: The most abundant large shark in the western Atlantic, and it’s protected in Florida state waters.[20][19]
Photo: NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory (collection of Brandi Noble) (public domain)
Atlantic sharpnose shark
Rhizoprionodon terraenovae
Should you worry? Rarely an issueThe Florida Museum rates it a moderate threat because it lives where people swim, but says most of its bites are minor and not serious.[22]
- Typical adult size
- Small: adults are 2–3 ft and rarely grow past 3½ ft. Pups are 11–15 inches at birth.[21]
- Where & when in Florida
- Common near the surf zone and in bays and estuaries, year-round off Florida. It moves offshore as winter comes and back inshore in spring.[21][22]
- What it eats
- Small fish such as baitfish, silversides and jacks, plus shrimp, crabs, worms and mollusks.[21][22]
Fun fact: It’s the most commonly caught small coastal shark along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Adults may have small white spots on their sides.[22][21]
Photo: Terry Goss / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
White shark (winter visitor)
Carcharodon carcharias
Should you worry? Give it spaceOff Florida, records place it mostly in offshore shelf waters. Worldwide, it’s linked to more fatal bites than any other shark, mainly because of its size and power. White sharks are protected in all U.S. waters.[25][24][23]
- Typical adult size
- Born about 4 ft long; adults can reach about 20 ft.[23]
- Where & when in Florida
- A seasonal visitor that mostly stays offshore. Tracking and catch records show white sharks regularly spend winter and spring off the Southeast U.S., mostly December to May, with focus areas between southern Georgia and Cape Canaveral, along the Keys, and offshore of Tampa Bay. Most of that time is spent in offshore continental shelf waters.[25][26]
- What it eats
- Young ones eat bottom fish, smaller sharks and rays, schooling fish and squid. Big adults add seals, dolphins and large fish.[23][24]
Fun fact: Some white sharks tagged off Nova Scotia, Canada, have been tracked all the way into the Gulf of Mexico.[26]
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