Silvertip Shark

Photo: Cécile Bonis · CC BY-NC

Silvertip sharks are year-round residents of El Planchón's walls and blue-water margins, identifiable by the distinctive white tips on all fins that contrast sharply with their grey bodies. They are apex predators at the seamount, occasionally displacing other shark species from the cleaning stations and following schools of jacks during feeding events. Their territorial behaviour around the seamount makes them more predictable than open-water pelagics, and divers regularly encounter 3 to 8 individuals per dive.