Pigeye Shark

A robust, heavy-bodied requiem shark, the pigeye shark (Carcharhinus amboinensis) reaches lengths of around 2.5 to 2.8 meters and is easily confused with the more familiar bull shark due to its similarly stout build and blunt, rounded snout. It has small eyes, a tall first dorsal fin, and coloration ranging from bronze to grey above with a pale underside. As an apex and mesopredator, it feeds on bony fishes, smaller sharks and rays, and cephalopods, helping regulate prey populations in coastal marine food webs.

The species is found in warm coastal and estuarine waters across the Indo-West Pacific and parts of the Atlantic, with confirmed populations in Thailand, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Australia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, and several other nations spanning Africa, Asia, and Oceania. It typically inhabits shallow inshore waters, including bays, river mouths, and turbid nearshore zones, rarely venturing far offshore.

Population declines are driven primarily by fishing and harvesting pressure, both targeted and incidental in inshore gillnet and longline fisheries, compounded by coastal habitat degradation from urban development, aquaculture expansion, agricultural runoff, and logging activity in coastal watersheds. These factors particularly affect nursery habitats in estuaries and shallow bays that juveniles depend on.

Conservation measures remain limited and inconsistent across its range, with some protection afforded through regional fisheries management, shark-specific catch regulations in countries like Australia and South Africa, and its listing under international trade and migratory species frameworks. Enforcement and monitoring remain weak in many range states.

Given ongoing habitat loss and largely unregulated fishing across much of its range, the species' population is assessed as decreasing, with no strong indication of near-term recovery.