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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Animals

Sharks

Caribbean reef shark

Carcharhinus perezi

Caribbean reef sharks are classic wall and drop-off predators of the western Atlantic. Most stay faithful to a home reef, but some make surprising deep-water and inter-island journeys.

EndangeredIn 19 Atlas countries

Endangered (IUCN, 2021) means it is at very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Caribbean reef shark swimming close over a reef in the Bahamas
Photo: R Vasconcellos, iNaturalist, CC BY
Caribbean reef shark passing over coral and sea fans, Bahamas
Photo: R Vasconcellos, iNaturalist, CC BY
Caribbean reef shark cruising above a reef slope
Photo: Dan Schofield, iNaturalist, CC BY
Caribbean reef shark gliding low over sand and coral
Photo: Dan Schofield, iNaturalist, CC BY
Caribbean reef shark with jacks swimming above the reef
Photo: Dan Schofield, iNaturalist, CC BY

Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.

Length

Up to about 3 m (9.8 ft); mature at about 1.6 m (5.2 ft)

Weight

Up to about 70 kg (154 lb)

Next to a person

A large adult is longer than a tall person

What it eats

Mainly reef fish such as bigeyes, plus some squid, octopus and small rays and sharks.

Around people

Defensive if pressured

How it lives

The Caribbean reef shark lives on coral reefs and reef edges of the western Atlantic, mostly from 1 to 35 m deep. It hunts mainly reef fish and is sometimes seen resting still on the sand or in caves. Females give birth to live young, about 4 to 6 pups every other year after a pregnancy of about one year.

Where it goes

Most Caribbean reef sharks stay close to home, often along less than 20 km of coast. In the Cayman Islands, acoustic tags from 2009 to 2019 showed some sharks crossing 110 km of deep open water between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman, and one mature female moved 148 km, the longest distance recorded for the species.

Populations

It lives from North Carolina in the United States to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. There are no subspecies. Numbers have fallen in many places because of fishing, and it was listed as Endangered in 2021. Sharks are seen more often where fewer people fish and dive.

Meet it respectfully

Stay calm and low near the reef, keep the shark in view and give it room to pass. Never touch, feed, chase, surround or block a shark. We choose dives without bait or feeding, because food changes how many sharks gather and how they behave.

Fun fact

Tap the bulb to light it up.

Where it goes

Follow its journey

Watch it travel. Every line comes from satellite tracking or documented research, and the source is named.

StartEndJourney (the line joins documented areas; real paths vary)

Where you may meet it

Caribbean reef shark in the Ocean Atlas

Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.

FijiTanzaniaW. SaharaCanadaUnited States of AmericaKazakhstanUzbekistanArgentinaChileDem. Rep. CongoSomaliaKenyaSudanChadHaitiDominican Rep.RussiaBahamasNorwayGreenlandSouth AfricaLesothoMexicoUruguayBrazilBoliviaPeruColombiaPanamaCosta RicaNicaraguaHondurasEl SalvadorGuatemalaBelizeVenezuelaGuyanaSurinameFranceEcuadorPuerto RicoJamaicaCubaZimbabweBotswanaNamibiaSenegalMaliMauritaniaBeninNigerNigeriaCameroonTogoGhanaCôte d'IvoireGuineaGuinea-BissauLiberiaSierra LeoneBurkina FasoCentral African Rep.CongoGabonEq. GuineaZambiaMalawiMozambiqueeSwatiniAngolaBurundiIsraelLebanonMadagascarPalestineGambiaTunisiaAlgeriaJordanUnited Arab EmiratesQatarKuwaitIraqOmanMyanmarMongoliaIndiaBangladeshBhutanNepalPakistanAfghanistanTajikistanKyrgyzstanTurkmenistanIranSyriaArmeniaSwedenBelarusUkrainePolandAustriaHungaryMoldovaRomaniaLithuaniaLatviaEstoniaGermanyBulgariaGreeceTurkeyAlbaniaCroatiaSwitzerlandLuxembourgBelgiumNetherlandsPortugalSpainIrelandSri LankaChinaItalyDenmarkUnited KingdomIcelandAzerbaijanGeorgiaSloveniaFinlandSlovakiaCzechiaEritreaParaguayYemenSaudi ArabiaN. CyprusCyprusMoroccoEgyptLibyaEthiopiaDjiboutiSomalilandUgandaRwandaBosnia and Herz.MacedoniaSerbiaMontenegroKosovoTrinidad and TobagoS. SudanBimini, The BahamasAndros, The BahamasExuma Cays, The BahamasEleuthera, The BahamasPlacencia and the Southern Reef, BelizeLittle Cayman, Cayman IslandsGrand Cayman, Cayman IslandsCayman Brac, Cayman IslandsRoatán, HondurasUtila, HondurasGuanaja, HondurasCayos Cochinos, HondurasLa Ventana, MexicoGuadalupe Island, MexicoGrand Turk, Turks and Caicos IslandsSalt Cay, Turks and Caicos IslandsProvidenciales and Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos IslandsWest Caicos and French Cay, Turks and Caicos IslandsFlorida Keys (Key Largo), United StatesLa Jolla and the Channel Islands, United StatesMaui, United StatesOʻahu, United StatesSan Diego and La Jolla, United StatesJuneau and Southeast Alaska, United StatesGlacier Bay, United StatesSeward and Kenai Fjords, United StatesMalpelo, ColombiaGorgona, ColombiaNuquí, Bahía Solano and Utría, ColombiaProvidencia and Santa Catalina, ColombiaSan Andrés, ColombiaFernando de Noronha, BrazilAbrolhos, BrazilPraia do Forte, BrazilSanta Catarina whale coast, BrazilBonito, BrazilSalt Island and the RMS Rhone, British Virgin IslandsNorman Island and the Indians, British Virgin IslandsVirgin Gorda, British Virgin IslandsAnegada and Horseshoe Reef, British Virgin IslandsBayahibe and the south coast, Dominican RepublicSanta Catalina and Coiba, PanamaGulf of Chiriquí, PanamaPearl Islands, PanamaIsla Iguana and Isla Cañas, PanamaBocas del Toro and Bastimentos, PanamaGuna Yala, PanamaWestpunt, CuraçaoWillemstad and the central coast, CuraçaoCuraçao Marine Park (southeast coast), CuraçaoKlein Curaçao, CuraçaoPort Antonio and Negril, JamaicaCades Reef and the southwest coast, Antigua and BarbudaEnglish Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua and BarbudaBarbuda and Codrington Lagoon, Antigua and BarbudaMan of War Shoal Marine Park, Sint MaartenSt John and the national park, US Virgin IslandsCulebra, Puerto RicoVieques, Puerto RicoLa Parguera, Puerto RicoRincon and the Mona Passage, Puerto RicoBonaire and Klein Bonaire, Caribbean NetherlandsSaba and Saba Bank, Caribbean NetherlandsSint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands

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Antigua and BarbudaThe BahamasBelizeBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsColombiaCuraçaoDominican RepublicHondurasJamaicaMexicoPanamaPuerto RicoSint MaartenTurks and Caicos IslandsUnited StatesUS Virgin Islands
Sources for this page

Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.

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