Finetooth Shark

About the Finetooth Shark

Finetooth Sharks are coastal species found in shallow waters up to 20 meters deep. They are found in large schools and usually feed on small bony fishes and cephalopods. Finetooth Sharks are distributed in the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico where it is found commonly.  There are also records of these sharks in South America and Africa.

In the US and Mexico, the current status of the population is above maximum sustainable count as no overfishing is taking place. This species has been rare throughout its reportage and is difficult to obtain information off South America. As it occurs in the shallow waters, it increases the risk of being endangered where the fishing is heavy. While the majority of the population is found in the US Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, it is listed as Least Concern globally. They alive in shallow waters in the summer and migrate south once the temperature starts dropping below 20 degrees.

Biology

Finetooth Sharks attain a maximum length of 190 cm and live up to ten years of age.  In the Atlantic waters, it has been found to reach maturity at the size of 1 m, and in the Gulf of Mexico in females at 1 m and males at 93 cm.

The age at maturity in females was 4.2 and 6.2 years, and 3.5 and 4.9 years for males in Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic waters respectively. They are viviparous and the size at birth is 55-58 cm. Litter sizes are usually 3 to 5 pups.

Finetooths are consumed fresh or dried and salted. The major threat is bycatch by shrimp fisheries. The actual number of finetooths caught is unknown. In South America they’re caught by trawls, gillnets and beach seine as bycatch.

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