Known for their quick and aggressive nature, silky sharks are considered one of the world’s most abundant shark species. They can be found in the coastal and oceanic waters of tropical seas at depths between 18 and 500 m. Juveniles tend to inhabit coastal waters around shallow continental shelves, and then move offshore, becoming more pelagic as they mature. Adult silky sharks will move alongside migrating groups of pelagic fishes, such as tunas, which they feed upon. In the open ocean, silky sharks seem to spend the vast majority of their time in the top 50 m (660 ft) of the water at temperatures between 26 and 30 °C (79–86 °F). After the blue shark, the silky shark is the second most commonly-captured shark species in the world and are captured frequently as bycatch in longline and purse seine fisheries.
