Species profile
Nurse Shark
Ginglymostoma cirratum
At a glance
Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is an IUCN Vulnerable shark or ray regulated in 4 of 65 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
Bag limits are uniform at 1 per angler across the 3 regulating jurisdictions.
Confirmed by 1,234 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Florida, Texas, and Georgia the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Can grow up to 4.3 meters (14 feet) long, though most adults range from 2.1 to 3 meters.
- Pumps water over its gills while resting motionless on the seafloor—most sharks cannot do this.
- Has two fleshy barbels near its mouth that sense prey buried in sand or reef rubble.
- Feeds mainly at night on bottom-dwelling prey including stingrays, crustaceans, and squid.
- Despite a docile reputation, nurse sharks are among the more frequently recorded biters when harassed.
Where Nurse Shark are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Nurse Shark
Background
The nurse shark is an elasmobranch fish in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as vulnerable in the IUCN List of Threatened Species. They are considered to be a species of least concern in the United States and in The Bahamas, but considered to be near threatened in the western Atlantic Ocean because of their vulnerable status in South…
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Nurse Shark article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other sharks & rays on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.