Sharks
Silvertip Shark
Carcharhinus albimarginatus · Cartilaginous fish — family Carcharhinidae
A silvertip's arrival changes the temperature of a dive. The shape reads at distance — heavier than a grey reef shark, every fin edged in white as if dipped in paint — and the approach is pure confidence, a straight line ending in a slow bank a meter or two away. They own the deep edges of remote reefs: Osprey's North Horn, the Burma Banks, the seamounts of the Revillagigedos. Encounters feel like an audience granted rather than a sighting achieved. Slow to mature and faithful to isolated sites, silvertips vanish quickly when longlines find their banks, so the remaining strongholds sit mostly inside marine parks and far from ports.
Where and when to see one
"Resident" means most dives at that destination encounter them; "seasonal" means reliably present in the listed months; anything else is a bonus, not a plan.
| Destination | Reliability | Months | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socorro & the RevillagigedosMexico | Resident — seen on most dives | Year-round | |
| Coral Sea & Osprey ReefAustralia | Resident — seen on most dives | Year-round | |
| Mergui ArchipelagoMyanmar | Seasonal — reliable in season | Nov–Apr | |
| RangiroaFrench Polynesia | Occasional | Year-round | |
| Kimbe BayPapua New Guinea | Occasional | Year-round |
Best month, at a glance
Understanding them
Habitat: Offshore banks, seamount flanks, and steep outer-reef drop-offs, typically deeper than its reef-shark relatives
Range: Patchy across the tropical Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific — East Africa, the Andaman Sea, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Coral Sea, French Polynesia, and offshore Mexico and Colombia
Behavior: The boss of the drop-off. Silvertips carry themselves with a directness that greys and blacktips lack, approaching divers head-on for a close inspection pass before resuming patrol. Every fin wears a brilliant white margin, unmistakable when the animal banks in the blue.
Diet: Reef and pelagic fish, including smaller sharks and rays; frequently dominant over other species at a carcass or feed
Size: typically around 1.8 m; documented up to 2.7 m (total length; a heavier, broader-shouldered build than the grey reef sharks it resembles).
How to behave around one
Meet the head-on approach calmly without retreating mid-pass, stay off the bait line at feeds, and keep gauges and hoses clipped tight — silvertips are known to test dangling objects.
Conservation
Assessed Vulnerable in 2020; isolated island populations show sharp declines wherever offshore fishing reaches, and recolonization between distant banks is slow.
Charted sites known for them
Watch
From the official channels
Best Places to Dive with Whale Sharks
Outrageously Tiny Fish
Sink or Swim? with Monét X Change | Monterey Bay Aquarium
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