Carcharhinus plumbeus, Sandbar shark : fisheries, gamefish

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Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1827)

Sandbar shark
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Carcharhinus plumbeus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Carcharhinus plumbeus (Sandbar shark)
Carcharhinus plumbeus
Picture by McAuley, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Etymology: Carcharhinus: karcharos (Gr.), sharp or jagged; rhinus, an ancient name for sharks, from rhine (Gr.), rasp, both words alluding to a shark's jagged, rasp-like skin. (See ETYFish);  plumbeus: Latin for “of lead,” i.e., lead-colored, referring to its gray-brown coloration above. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Nardo.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 500 m (Ref. 100719), usually 20 - 65 m (Ref. 55188). Subtropical; 23°C - 27°C (Ref. 244); 45°N - 41°S, 98°W - 154°W (Ref. 55188)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Widespread in tropical and warm-temperate waters worldwide.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 166.3, range 126 - 183 cm
Max length : 300 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 124786); common length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9987); max. published weight: 117.9 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 34 years (Ref. 92315)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. A stout shark with a moderately long, rounded snout, high, triangular, saw-edged upper teeth, and an interdorsal ridge; 1st dorsal fin very large and erect (Ref. 5578). Grey-brown or bronzy with no prominent markings, white below (Ref. 5578). Fins plain or with slightly dusky tips (Ref. 5485).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found inshore and offshore, on continental and insular shelves and adjacent deep water (Ref. 244). Common at bays, river mouths and in harbors; avoids sandy beaches and the surf zone, coral reefs and rough bottom, and surface waters (Ref. 244). Coastal-pelagic, but usually bottom associated at 1-280 m (Ref. 58302). Sometimes in oceanic waters (Ref. 9997). Known to make extended seasonal migrations in some parts of its range (Ref. 6871). Feeds mainly on bony fishes, also small sharks, cephalopods, and shrimps (Ref. 5578), rays and gastropods (Ref. 5213). Youngs feed heavily on crustaceans such as blue crabd and mantis shrimp (Ref. 93252). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Sexual dimorphism is evident in thickness of skin layer of maturing and adult females (Ref. 49562). Females live as long as 21 year; males 15 years (Ref. 27549). Populations are segregated by age. Young readily kept in aquaria (Ref. 244). Utilized for human consumption, for leather and oil (Ref. 244). Marketed fresh, smoked, dried-salted and frozen; fins are valued for soup (Ref. 9987). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). Records to 300 cm TL uncertain (Ref. 9997). TL to 300 cm (Ref. 26938). Angling: an inshore fish and a good light-tackle fighter (Ref. 84357).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Viviparous (Ref. 26281), placental (Ref. 50449), 1-14 pups in a litter; 56-75 cm at birth (Ref. 2334); gestation period of 12 months (Ref.58048). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Sexual dimorphism is evident in the thicker skin layer of maturing and adult females (Ref. 49562). This thickened skin may serve as protection from the 'bites' the female species receive from the males during precopulation and in the rugged conditions of the rock and coral environment where they live (Ref. 49562). Pups are born from Feb. to April in Northeastern Taiwan (Ref. 37027).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (A2bd); Date assessed: 03 December 2020

CITES


CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 9997)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 16.6 - 28.9, mean 27 °C (based on 3224 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00447 (0.00359 - 0.00555), b=3.09 (3.05 - 3.13), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (rm=0.028; K=0.05-0.09; tm=12-16; tmax=34; Fec=5-12).
Prior r = 0.06, 95% CL = 0.04 - 0.10, Based on 1 stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (87 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 7.18 [1.02, 43.19] mg/100g; Iron = 0.476 [0.121, 1.485] mg/100g; Protein = 21.4 [18.5, 23.8] %; Omega3 = 0.302 [0.118, 0.686] g/100g; Selenium = 28.7 [8.8, 93.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 19.2 [5.6, 67.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.54 [0.25, 1.03] mg/100g (wet weight);