Age and Growth of the Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) from the Western North Atlantic

Abstract

Age and growth of the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) was determined from rings in the vertebrae of 475 individuals, tagging data from 220 sharks at liberty for up to 17 yr, and length–frequency data from 2594 individuals. The oldest male sandbar aged in this study was 15 yr old and 154 cm fork length (FL); the oldest female was 21 yr old and 204 cm FL. The sexes grew at similar rates, 5.2–7.3 cm/yr. Females reached a larger adult size. Age to maturity was estimated at 13 yr in males and 12 yr in females. Tag returns indicated that sandbar sharks may live for over 30 yr. von Bertalanffy parameters for males are L∞ = 257, K = 0.0501, t0 = −4.5 and for females are L∞ = 299, K = 0.040, t0 = −4.9.