Shark Trivia

Did You Know that the Caribbean needs more Sharks….

.….and more conservation efforts due to the decline of shark population through many of the 13 sovereign island nations and 12 dependent territories? The Caribbean is actually made up of 7,000 islands.

Recent research suggests that sharks are surprisingly rare in many Caribbean nations, likely due to decades of unregulated overfishing. However, the Bahamas have worked to improve conservation efforts and protect sharks, which has benefitted them significantly with an estimated shark diving industry worth over US $140 million per year.

The most common sharks found in the Caribbean include the Caribbean Reef Shark, Blacktip Reef Shark, Tiger Shark, Nurse Shark, and Bull Shark.

Divers can generally find sharks in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Grenada, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Tobago, and Cayo Lobito Island in Puerto Rico. Not all locations offer the same observation and/or interaction opportunities.

Despite the millions of tourists that visit the beaches of these islands every year, attacks are rare. The confirmed number of unprovoked shark attacks since 1749, has numbered less than 80 in total. Bahamas, Cuba, and Puerto Rico are the only countries who have even had more than 10 each.