Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

Photo: Albert Kang · CC BY-NC

Scalloped hammerhead sharks appear at Shark Point Addu primarily between December and March, when the strong inter-atoll currents and cooler upwelling water create the temperature gradients these sharks prefer for schooling behaviour. Schools of 5 to 30 individuals have been reported, circling the point in the characteristic loose formation typical of hammerhead aggregations — a behaviour thought to relate to social hierarchy establishment and mate assessment. Addu's geographic position as the southernmost Maldivian atoll places it on the migration corridor between Indian Ocean open-water hammerhead populations and the Maldivian reef system, making Shark Point one of the most southerly reliable hammerhead sites in the archipelago.