Fish

Shark Bay is home to a diverse range of marine life. This meeting place of warm waters from the north and cooler waters from the south provides the best of both worlds for tropical and temperate species.

More than 320 fish species live here, from emperors and angel fish to remoras and wrasse. Recreational fishers come to battle Spanish mackerel, tailor and kingfish, while commercial fishers harvest whiting, mullet and snapper. Divers delight in parrotfish, damselfish and other tropical species winding through the water in a kaleidoscope of colour and form.

There is a reason why Shark Bay is so called. “Sharks we caught a great many of, which our men eat very savourily,” wrote English explorer William Dampier in 1699. “Among them we caught one which was 11 feet long.” Dampier named the place “Shark’s Bay” in honour of these magnificent fish.

At least 28 shark species live in Shark Bay and some can be spotted from lookouts at Eagle Bluff and Skipjack Point, especially during summer.

Some of the more common sharks and rays:

Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)
Western wobbegong (Orectolobus hutchinsi)
Spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus)
Banded wobbegong (Orectolobus halei)
Grey carpet shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum)
Epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum)
Zebra shark (Stegastoma fasciatum)
Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)
Grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus)
White shark (Carcharodon carcharias)
Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
Whiskery shark (Furgaleus macki)
Pencil shark (Hypogaleus hyugaensis)
Weasel shark (Hemigaleus microstoma)
Fossil shark (Hemipristis elongata)
Spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna)
Nervous shark (Carcharhinus cautus)
Whitecheek shark (Carcharhinus dussumieri)
Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
Dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus)
Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus)
Lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens)
Milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus)
Whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus)
Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena)
Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)
Smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena)

Other species likely to occur in Shark Bay:

Creek whaler (Carcharhinus fitzroyensis)
Tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)
Common blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)
Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
Pigeye shark (Carcharhinus amboinensis)
Silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus)
Rays are closely related to sharks and six common species in Shark Bay are:
Manta ray (Manta birostris)
Spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari)
Western round skate (Irolita sp.)
Blue-spotted stingray (Dasyatis kuhlii)
Black stingray (Dasyatis thetidis)
Cowtail stingray (Pastinachus sephen)

The Shovel-Nose ray looks like a shark, but with its mouth on the underside of its head, is considered a ray. They can grow up to 2.7 metres long and are often seen lying in the sandy shallows.