Tiger Shark

Tiger Shark

Galeocerdo cuvier

Size:
to 24 ft

Habitat:
open ocean, also enters rivers and bays at night

Notes:
extremely dangerous

tiger shark teeth

The serrated teeth are designed for sawing chunks from large prey items

If you are going to worry about a shark, let it be this one. Tiger Sharks are big, bold and inquisitive, and frequently come close inshore. They are also remarkably undiscriminating in their eating habits, which makes them even more likely to attack a swimmer, or anything for that matter.

Tiger sharks have the ability to evert ( turn inside-out ) their stomachs, much like starfish. This allows them to 'test' all sorts of food items that would otherwise choke them, like license plates and surfboards.

Tiger Shark
The tiger-stripe markings are readily apparent in this shot.
Tiger Shark
Note that this shark and the one above are both swimming over coral reefs, nowhere near New Jersey!
Tiger Shark
A Tiger shark approaches some floating chum. Note the squared-off muzzle. The green water looks like somewhere in Florida.
Tiger Shark
A Tiger shark swims in the surf off Australia. Habits like this are what make this shark so dangerous. Fortunately for us, Australia is very far from New Jersey.
Tiger shark displaying its bad habits

Lobster bib

This is what it's all about. Well, for some folks anyway. Yet, I have seen many beginners totally frustrated in their attempts to catch their first 'bug'. Perhaps these pointers will help:

Lobsters haven't evolved much in the last twenty years, but lobstering sure has. For one thing, bugs are a lot fewer and a lot smaller, unless you go way out deep. For another, the regulators took away our trophies with a maximum size limit, and they've also added seasonal closures. Not that I won't grab a nice bug if I can, but lobsters are not the same game they used to be, and not my motivation in diving.