Sharks of the Oregon Coast

Sharks have existed in our waters since the age of the Dinosaurs. They have remained the same for 350 million years. The shark is the largest and most feared fish in the sea. They live in every ocean on Earth, including the waters of the Oregon Coast. The shark has no natural predator other than the Killer Whale. Of the over 450 species of sharks, only 15 or so can be found in Oregon waters. Please take time to explore these websites to learn more about Sharks and Sharks of the Oregon Coast.

	The Basking Shark is the largest shark on the Oregon coast, and the second largest in the world. They can reach lengths of up to 50 feet, but average between 30 and 40 feet. The Basking shark is a filter feeder that eats zooplankton from the water. They are highly migratory and seem to disappear entirely during the fall and winter. During this time they remain in very deep water and may hibernate, but this is a disputed theory. They are social animals and form groups segregated by sex, usually in small numbers (3-4), but they have been reported to travel in groups as large as 100.
The Angel Shark is unusually shaped, with flattened bodies and very broad pectoral fins. They are members of the group of sharks called Squatiniformes. Angel Sharks are bottom dwellers, meaning that they burry themselves in sand or mud on the sea floor waiting to capture their prey. A buried angel shark may lie concealed in this way for weeks at a time until a suitable prey wanders within striking distance. Their diet includes fish, crustaceans and various types of mollusks. Although not normally aggressive creatures, they do bite when stepped on or handled.
	The Thresher Shark is named for and recognized by its incredibly long tail. Their tails account for 50 percent of their total body length. They are active predators and actually use their tail as a weapon to stun prey. The thresher is a strong swimmer and can leap clear of the water. Threshers are solitary sharks which keep mostly to themselves. They may live for 20 years or more. There are three different species of the Thresher: The biggest is the Thintail Thresher (Approximately 7 meters in length), second is the Bigeye Thresher (5 meters), and the smallest being the Pelagic Thresher (3 meters).
The White Shark can be found in coastal waters of all major oceans. The Great White is the world’s largest predatory fish, reaching lengths of about 20 feet and weighing over 4,000 pounds. They hunt using an "ambush" technique, taking their prey by surprise from the bottom. Great White sharks primarily eat fish, smaller sharks, turtles, dolphins, seals and sea lions.
More than any documented attack, Steven Spielberg's 1975 film JAWS solidified the image of the Great White as a "man eater" in the public mind. While Great Whites have been responsible for occasional fatalities in humans, they typically do not target humans as prey. Most attacks on humans are cases of mistaken identity, where the shark ambushes a swimmer or surfer that their silhouette is that of a seal. Humans are not even healthy for the Great White to eat because their digestive system is too slow to handle the human body’s high ratio of bone to muscle and fat.
Species of Shark found in the waters off the Oregon Coast: Brown catshark, Apristurus brunneus Soupfin or tope shark, Galeorhinus galeus Leopard shark, Triakis semifasciata Brown smoothhound, Mustelus henlei Blue shark, Prionace glauca Bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus Broadnose sevengill shark, Notorynchus cepedianus Pacific sleeper shark, Somniosus pacificus Spiny or piked dogfish, Squalus acanthias Pacific angel shark, Squatina californica Thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus Basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus White shark, Carcharadon carcharius Shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus Salmon shark, Lamna ditropis	Last modified by Bryce T. Bilusak on February 23, 2006