The Bull shark is a massive elasmobranch with a short, broad and blunt snout, small eyes and triangular saw-edged upper teeth, and lack of interdorsal ridge, characters which are sufficient to distinguish this species.

Biology

Length: It reaches a maximum size of 400 cm total length (TL), but is mostly reported to be 340–366 cm total maximum length. Males mature at 157–226 cm TL and females mature at 180–230 cm TL.

Gestation Period: 10-11 months

Litter Size: upto 13 (usually 6-8)

Life Expectancy: Age estimates vary regionally. In Australia and South Africa, female age-at-maturity is 9.5 and 21 years and maximum age is 27 and 32 years, respectively; thus, generation length is 18.2 and 26.5 years, respectively. In the Northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, female age-at-maturity is 15 and 10–18 years and maximum age is 27 and 24–28 years, respectively; thus, generation length is 21 and 19–21 years, respectively.

Diet: Feeds on bony fishes, other sharks, rays, mantis shrimps, crabs, squid, sea snails, sea urchins, mammalian carrion, sea turtles, and occasionally garbage .

Habitat and distribution

Habitat: A coastal and freshwater shark inhabiting shallow waters especially in bays, estuaries, rivers, and lakes. It readily penetrates far up rivers and hypersaline bays and littoral lagoons. Capable of covering great distances (up to 180 kilometers in 24 hours), moving between fresh and brackish water at random. Adults often found near estuaries and freshwater inflows to the sea; young enter rivers and may be found hundreds of km from the sea.

Distribution: The Bull Shark has a circumglobal distribution. The species travels large distances up rivers and remains in freshwater for extended periods of time. It has currently been documented from 125 freshwater rivers and lakes across all continents in its range and likely occurs in any river within its range of suitable depth, temperature, current, and available prey.

Depth: 0-164 m

Known landing centres: Sassoon Docks, New Ferry Wharf, Royapuram Fishing Harbour, Cuddalore Fishing Harbour, Nagapattinam Fishing Harbour, Junglighat, Burmanallah, Wandoor, Dignabad, Kakinada, Cochin Fisheries Harbour, Veraval, Mangrol, Porbander, Okha

Commercial value

The Bull Shark is used for its meat which is consumed fresh locally and dried and exported and for its fins. The skin and liver oil are also used commercially, and in Pakistan, the late-term embryos are among the highest valued fish. 

Threats

The Bull Shark is subject to fishing pressure across its range. It is caught as target and bycatch in artisanal, industrial, and recreational fisheries across its range with multiple fishing gears including gillnet, longline, and trawl. It is mostly retained for its meat and fins. This species preference for inshore coastal waters, estuarine, and riverine habitats means it is also threatened by habitat loss and degradation, including pollution and clearing, and climate change. Global climate change has already resulted in large-scale coral bleaching events with increasing frequency causing worldwide reef degradation since 1997.

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