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.
Waar en wanneer je er een kunt zien
"Resident" betekent dat je ze bij de meeste duiken op die bestemming tegenkomt; "seizoensgebonden" betekent betrouwbaar aanwezig in de vermelde maanden; al het andere is een bonus, geen garantie.
| Bestemming | Betrouwbaarheid | Maanden | Notities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socorro & the RevillagigedosMexico | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Coral Sea & Osprey ReefAustralia | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Mergui ArchipelagoMyanmar | Seasonal — reliable in season | Nov–Apr | |
| RangiroaFrench Polynesia | Occasional | Het hele jaar door | |
| Kimbe BayPapua New Guinea | Occasional | Het hele jaar door |
Beste maand, in één oogopslag
Ze begrijpen
Habitat: Offshore banks, seamount flanks, and steep outer-reef drop-offs, typically deeper than its reef-shark relatives
Verspreidingsgebied: 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
Gedrag: 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.
Dieet: Reef and pelagic fish, including smaller sharks and rays; frequently dominant over other species at a carcass or feed
Grootte: doorgaans rond 1.8 m; gedocumenteerd tot 2.7 m (total length; a heavier, broader-shouldered build than the grey reef sharks it resembles).
Hoe je je ertegenover gedraagt
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.
Behoud
Assessed Vulnerable in 2020; isolated island populations show sharp declines wherever offshore fishing reaches, and recolonization between distant banks is slow.
Gekende duiksites waar je ze tegenkomt
Bekijk
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