Key West Blacktip Shark Fishing Charters

Blacktip sharks, requiem sharks from the Carcharhinidae family, are very common in both tropical and subtropical areas of the world. This includes the Florida Keys, especially Key West. They prefer brackish habitats and can easily be confused with Blacktip Reef shark.

How Blacktip Sharks Feed and What's Unique

These sharks typically grow to an average length of five feet. They have long gill slits, snouts that are pointed, and black tips on their fins. While they have been described as timid when compared to other shark species, they are known to aggressively attack schools of smaller fish. In these attacks, Blacktip sharks will leap from the water, spinning in midair.

Blacktip sharks will not usually engage humans, though they will protect their food sources and may attack people in their preferred hunting areas. In most conditions, a Blacktip shark will appear curious of divers, but not become aggressive. If a Blacktip shark does attack, divers and swimmers typically only end up with minor wounds. There has only been one fatal attack by a Blacktip shark as of 2008. In the Florida area, Blacktip sharks typically are only responsible for 16 percent of all shark attacks, many of them provoked.

The Blacktip shark will eat almost exclusively fish, which make up 90 percent of its diet. They have been observed eating a huge variety of fish.

How We Get Them

Our Key West Blacktip Shark Fishing Charters will venture where the shark prefer, like wrecks, reefs and shallow waters. In the bay, they frequent Mullet muds. They will also venture into the deeper channels to search for prey such as Jacks and Lady Fish. In the wrecks, they will target prey fish closer to the surface.