Silky Sharks

The Silky Shark is known for the smooth and silky tecture of its skin...not very common when dealing with sharks. They are the MOST ABUNDANT breed of shark in all tropical areas of the ocean due to their tendency to migrate all across the Continental Shelf.

This species of shark grow to be approximately 8 feet long (which is relatively small compared to a Great White or Tiger Shark).
Silky Sharks favor bony fish, in particular tuna, and have been known to trail schools of fish. They are also known for herding schools of fish into smaller groups and then attacking the fish by slashing around with their open mouths.
Silky sharks have an EXCELLENT and extremely sensitive sense of hearing which allows this species of shark to determine where other sharks are feeding which usually means prey is nearby.

Female Silky Sharks have a gestation period of 12 MONTHS and can give birth to up to 16 pups at a time (6-12 pups are the usual amount). The young are born alive and fully developed. Before giving birth, the mother usually looks for an isolated reef sanctuary or nursery so that way when the pups are born they can hide amongst the reef. The pups know to spend their first few months in these reefs so as to stay camouflaged and hidden away from dangerous predators.

This species of shark is known to have particularly large and sharp teeth that allow them to cut into bony fish. The Silky Shark has been known to be aggressive towards divers but attacks on humans are extremely RARE due to they spend most of their time in areas where humans do not dive.

Although these sharks seem to be plentiful since their ability to migrate throughout the oceans, Silky Sharks are becoming very targeted for their fins. Since their abundance in the oceans, they have become a particular target for fisherman and as such their numbers are majorly declining.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has changed the Silky Sharks' conservation status FROM "LEAST CONCERN" TO "NEAR THREATENED" in 2007.  
As of May of 2009, the International Shark Attack File has reported 6 attacks of Silky Sharks on humans, NONE OF WHICH WERE FATAL.
Silky Sharks are heavily fished, and are victims to fisherman finning them (taking their fins and then discarding them back into the ocean, either to die by suffication, bleeding-to-death, or being attacked by predators).
*****IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 500,000 TO 1,500,000 MILLION SILKY SHARKS ARE FINNED AND TRADED EACH YEAR. IT IS THE SECOND-MOST COMMON SPECIES SOLD IN THE HONG KONG FINNING MARKET. (HONG KONG REPRESENTS OVER HALF THE GLOBAL TRADE OF SHARK FINS). *****