10 sharks that I would like to see when diving

I like sharks. Partly because of their rarity - I did 50 dives before ever spotting a shark - but also because they are magnificent creatures. I've not felt any fear yet (although that's likely to be because I've not seen any really dangerous sharks) when I've encountered them underwater, more of a "Wow!" feeling. It's a real shame that sharks are being hunted into extinction to supply the East Asian market for shark's fin soup - something which is is purely vanity, as shark's fin has no taste, and probably the same nutritional value as other cartilage. I've given up eating shark's fin, and I tell others not to eat it either. The soup tastes the same without the fin, although perhaps it's cheaper, and thus doesn't have the same cachet. Don't eat sharks.

1. Wobbegongs.

Wobbegongs, also known as carpet sharks, are a family (Orectolobidae) of 8 species known so far. They live in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, with a number of species commonly found around Australia. They obviously look very different from your archetypal shark, with a flattened body, broad head, and barbels around the mouth. The largest species is the spotted wobbegong, which grows up to 3.2m long. There are records of divers being bitten without provocation - wobbegongs are thought to have poor vision and are thus likely to mistake a diver for a threat.

2. Basking sharks.

Basking sharks, from the family Cetorhinidae, are found in temperate oceans, and are between 6 to 10m long (image from Elasmodiver). They are filter feeders, and quite often make the news here in the UK by visiting the coast of Cornwall. As one can see from the image, they are very impressive when they open their mouths to filter plankton through those gill frills. Older records state that there used to be schools of tens, even hundreds of basking sharks, but overfishing has reduced school sizes to a few tens at most. What a shame.

3. Ragged tooth sharks.

Ragged tooth sharks, also known as sand tiger sharks (or not - my shark taxonomy is a bit hazy), are part of a family called Odontaspididae. They have quite a wide distribution, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and from the Indian Ocean to the North Pacific around Japan. As can be seen from the image, they get their name from the rows of teeth that jut out from their jaw. But they're not too long though - between 2-3m.

4. Thresher sharks.

Thresher sharks, easily recognisable by the long upper tail fin (caudal), are members of a family called Alopiidae. There are 3 species, ranging from 3-5m long (image from malapascua-diving.com). These sharks use that long caudal fin to stun schools of fish when they hunt. According to my guide to sharks and rays, there is a report of a thresher shark that slapped a loon sitting on the surface! They're also commonly thought to be the swiftest shark around, and are distributed in the North Pacific.

5. Whale sharks.

Whale sharks are a single species in the family Rhincodontidae. They are found in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, and are many a diver's dream to see. They're certainly on my list. Whale sharks are plankton feeders, although contrary to popular wisdom they do eat baitfish. They are the largest species of shark (very impressive image from aasharks.com), and probably the best to swim with, since they wouldn't eat the snorkeller or diver. One day...

6. Hammerheads.

Right, I've seen hammerheads (one of them anyway), but the best possible sighting here has to be a large school. These sharks are fairly common sightings in schools throughout the Pacific, and are one of the species hunted heavily for its fins. There are 9 known species from the family Sphyrnidae, ranging from just under a metre to 6m long. Their most interesting feature is of course the hammer-shaped head, which enables them to eat rays off the sea floor. They are also known to reproduce by parthenogenesis (image and detail from Retrospectacle, a great blog which I recommend reading).

7. Goblin sharks.

Goblin sharks are weird, interesting and rare. They are the only species in the family Mitsukurinidae, and as the name implies, the holotype was found near Japan. It's pink, and has a fleshy protrusion just above the mouth. They are deep water sharks, found in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, off the coast of the US as well as in Australia and Japan. They are usually about 2-3m long. The chances of seeing this while diving are very slim - there have been some encounters near Cairns, but that's it as far as I know.

8. Nurse sharks.

These sharks are relatively common - found in most coastal subtropical waters (including off Tioman Island, but not in the Red Sea apparently). There are 3 species in the family Ginglymostomatidae. They are quite friendly and will often come right up to divers to investigate them. They have 2 distinctive barbels in front of their mouths. Still not seen any yet.

9. Angel sharks.

These are very interesting - they look like a cross between wobbegongs and some type of ray, but belong to the shark family (image from prdiving.com). Like rays, they have flattened bodies and large pectoral fins, although unlike rays they clearly have caudal and dorsal fins too. There are 16 species in the family Squatinidae, and are endangered due to (what else?) overfishing. Found in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, especially off the coastal United States.

10. Megamouth sharks.

This one is even more rare than the goblin shark! It's been seen a few dozen times since being discovered in 1976, with only a single encounter by a diver (off California, I believe). It looks quite fearsome, about 5m long and huge mouth, but is actually a plankton feeder. One species is known from the order Megachasmidae. Its usual habitat is deep water, in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, with about 10 specimens off Japan, according to Wikipedia.


And lastly, one shark that I definitely would NOT like to see when diving. I don't think I'm even ever going to go cage diving. Call me chicken, but I'm quite happy viewing these from the safety of the sofa, thank you.

11. Great white sharks.

One of 5 species from the order Lamnidae. The others are quite impressive as well (the order includes the porbeagle). Great whites are universally considered the most dangerous shark, and are found off rocky coasts and kelp forests (and rarely near coral reefs), where they hunt seals. They are responsible for quite a few attacks on humans off the coast of Australia. Apparently they spawn and mate somewhere off Malta, where I dived in 2005...


There are 3 other species of sharks deemed dangerous to humans - the tiger shark, the bull shark and the oceanic white-tip shark. The latter is difficult to distinguish from the reef white-tip shark, which doesn't really attack humans and is common around coral reefs. Got to be careful if I ever see one. All three are members of the family Carcharhinidae.