Caribbean reef shark

Photo: Victoria W · CC BY-NC

Caribbean reef sharks are the most abundant requiem shark in the wider Caribbean and a keystone predator of reef ecosystems. They are strongly site-faithful, with individuals returning to the same resting ledges and patrol corridors for years. As mesopredators they regulate populations of medium-sized fish, preventing any single species from dominating the reef. Their populations have declined sharply across fished Caribbean reefs; the Basse-Terre wall's proximity to the reserve and relative lack of fishing pressure supports one of the healthier populations in the eastern Caribbean.