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Step 1
Watch for sandbar sharks in temperate to tropical waters. They frequent bottom and shallow coastal waters and rarely swim on the surface. Sandbar sharks prefer island terraces, ocean banks or continental shelves but also inhabit estuaries, harbors and mouths of bays without ever venturing into freshwaters.
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Step 2
Find sandbar sharks in the western Atlantic, where they are the most abundant large shark species. They also inhabit the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Indo-Pacific, it ranges from the Hawaiian islands to East Africa to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
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Step 3
Look for a fairly large shark, averaging six feet but growing up to eight feet and weighing from 100 to 200 lbs. Sandbar sharks are blue-gray to brown-gray on top, with lighter shading to white underneath. They typically have no distinctive markings.
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Step 4
Examine the sandbar shark for a wide, flat head with a bluntly rounded snout. It has a large, tall first dorsal fin, with an interdorsal ridge between its two dorsal fins.
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Step 5
Identify the sandbar shark's dentition for upper teeth, which are broad, triangular and serrated with a high cusp. Its lower teeth are narrower and finely serrated. The sandbar's teeth are extremely sharp and dangerous.
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Step 6
Notice that female sandbar sharks migrate alone, while males migrate in large schools.
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Step 7
Note their diet and feeding habits. Sandbar sharks are primarily bottom-feeders that feed most actively at night. Their diet consists of small bony fish, mollusks, crustaceans, eels, rays, octopus and squid.
