What kind of sharks in sf bay

That poses a risk for people who eat leopard sharks from the Bay. State health authorities advise that women under 45 and children under 17 should never eat any type of shark caught in the Bay. For others, a maximum of one serving of shark meat about the size of the person's hand per week is considered safe. Despite this warning, people regularly fish for leopard sharks in the Bay and share shark recipes online.

They say the meat tastes like salmon. Leopard sharks do have predators in San Francisco Bay, including sea lions and the Bay's largest species, sevengill sharks. Sevengills are named for the seven sets of gills on each side of their body.

They are black and gray, grow as long as 10 feet, and can weigh over pounds. In addition to eating smaller sharks, sevengills also eat harbor seals. These sharks are in the Bay during spring and fall, and they may migrate into the Pacific during winter. Two other smaller Bay sharks are the reddish-brown smoothhound shark, and the Spiny dogfish, which has a needle-sharp spine sticking out from one of its fins.

Worldwide, the greatest threat to sharks is finning, the practice of killing sharks to eat their fins. The fins are used to make a luxury food prized in China and other parts of Asia, shark fin soup. The US and some other countries have banned shark finning. Great white sharks are native to the Pacific Ocean and are often seen off the California coast, especially in the summer.

A recent study by researchers at Oregon State found the population in Northern California is established and growing slightly. They found,"the population of white sharks numbers about , and evidence suggests that the adult population showed a modest uptick in numbers" according to a statement.

Although we share these waters with the occasional white shark, there are many other species that are far more common. Adult salmon sharks resemble juvenile white sharks and are frequently mistaken for white sharks. Both have the cryptic counter coloration with a darker color on the dorsal surface and lighter coloration on the bottom. This adaptation helps the predators blend in with the darker water beneath when looking down, and with the surface when looking upwards. Adult salmon sharks are medium grey to black over most of the body, with a white underside with darker blotches.

Juveniles are similar in appearance, but generally lack blotches. The snout is short and cone-shaped, and the overall appearance is similar to a small great white shark. Occasionally a reddish pink hue is detectable along the white margins. The great white shark has a robust, large, conical snout. The upper and lower lobes on the tail fin are approximately the same size which is similar to some mackerel sharks. Like the salmon shark the white shark also displays counter shading, by having a white underside and a grey dorsal area sometimes it is brown or blue that gives an overall mottled appearance.

A distinguishing feature of white sharks is the black margins on the underside of the pectoral fins.