Meet the Most Massive Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a large basin with around 617,800 square miles of water. The area supports diverse marine life, including many species of sharks. There are around 24 different species of sharks swimming in the Gulf. Although sharks may have a bad reputation among summer beachgoers, they are an integral part of the oceans’ ecosystems. Sharks are fascinating animals that have been around for hundreds of millions of years, predating both dinosaurs and trees. The truth is that sharks rarely attack humans, and when they do, it is usually by accident. If you’ve ever wondered which are the largest shark species swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, check out the following list of six of the most massive.

(If you’d like to keep track of the latest sightings of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas of the world, check out OCEARCH’s shark tracker.)

6. Tiger Shark

• Average length: 10 to 14 feet, but can grow up to 25 feet

• Average weight: 850 to 1,400 pounds, but can grow up to 1,900 pounds

Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are named for the distinctive stripes along their body. This large predatory shark is found swimming in warm waters around the world, except in the Mediterranean Sea.
Because of its preference for shallow, murky water near coastal areas, the tiger shark is one of the three main shark species most often involved in attacks on humans.

It’s not that tiger sharks are hunting humans on purpose; they just happen to be swimming in the same waters. Tiger sharks are often feared by beachgoers because, when a tiger shark bites a human, it tends to continue attacking. This is unlike great white sharks, which, despite their fearsome reputation, usually release a human and swim away after the first bite.

Tiger sharks are on the World Conservation Union (IUCN)’s “Near Threatened” list. Researchers tagged and followed 56 sharks living in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010 to 2018 to better understand their behavior and migratory patterns.

5. Great Hammerhead Shark

• Average length: 13 feet, but can grow up to 20 feet

• Average weight: 500 pounds, but can grow up to 991 pounds

The great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest of the nine hammerhead species. These apex predators are built for hunting, which they do in temperate coastal ecosystems such as the Gulf of Mexico. Hammerheads use their hammer-shaped heads to detect prey and their long, serrated teeth to consume their catch. These carnivorous fish eat stingrays, octopuses, squid, crustaceans, and other sharks on the seafloor.

The great hammerhead is not the only hammerhead species to swim in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is the largest. In addition to the great hammerhead, the scalloped hammerhead and bonnethead are also found swimming in the Gulf. Unfortunately, great hammerheads are often caught by fishermen as bycatch and are listed by the IUCN as “Critically Endangered.”

4. Common Thresher Shark

• Average length: 10 to 15 feet, but can grow up to 20 feet

• Average weight: up to 750 pounds

Common thresher sharks (Alopias vulpinus) live in ocean waters but often swim into coastal areas to hunt for food. Thresher sharks are a popular game fish for anglers and are harvested by fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. This migratory shark is often found swimming where plankton is abundant. They do not eat plankton themselves, but they prey on the small fish that do.

Despite their large size, common thresher sharks have been observed to be shy and nonaggressive toward humans. They are on the IUCN’s list of “Vulnerable” due to overfishing. When thresher sharks are overfished, the species is slow to repopulate because they live a long time, mature at an older age, and give birth to only a few young at a time.

3. Great White Shark

• Length: Up to 20 feet long

• Weight: Over 5,500 pounds

Great whites are probably the most feared sharks in the world, thanks to the 1975 movie “Jaws” and the many shark movies that followed.
Although they eat large mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even small whales, they do not appear to like the taste of humans.

In May of 2025, Florida Fish and Wildlife biologists spotted a juvenile great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) swimming in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast. While this was an exciting find for the biologists, great white shark sightings in the Gulf of Mexico are not uncommon. Though great whites prefer colder waters, they will head south from Canada and New England in search of food. This can take them as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. Great white sharks are listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN.

2. Basking Shark

• Length: 40 feet long

• Weight: Over 11,000 pounds

Although basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) are one of the largest sharks in the world, even more massive than the great white shark, they are known for their gentle nature. Not all sharks are carnivorous predators. Basking sharks only eat plankton, which they obtain by opening their enormous mouths and letting the ocean water flow through their gills, filtering out the plankton using gill rakers. The water is then removed through gill slits, and the shark swallows the plankton.

Moving at a rate of about two miles per hour, basking sharks are very slow swimmers. Due to their massive size, they are not found in shallow waters near the shore and are unlikely to be encountered by beachgoers swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. However, they are sometimes spotted by boaters and divers. Although they are peaceful and will not act aggressively against divers, their skin is rough and covered with large dermal denticles, which could cut or scrape a diver.

Unlike some other shark species, basking sharks have been observed swimming in pairs or groups. They are a migratory species and head to coastal waters in the summer, where they feast on plankton. They are not typically spotted in the winter, when scientists believe they move to deeper waters. Tagged basking sharks have been found swimming at great depths, even as far below the surface as 3,000 to 5,000 feet. Unfortunately, these gentle giants are listed as “Endangered” by the IUCN.

1. Whale Shark

• Length: Average length is around 40 to 45 feet; the largest ever recorded was over 61 feet

• Weight: Around 45,000 pounds

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are not only the largest sharks you will find in the Gulf of Mexico but also the largest sharks in the world. However, these giants are not what most people imagine when they think of massive sharks. Unlike predatory sharks, like the great white, whale sharks are peaceful filter feeders. Similar to the second-largest shark, the basking shark, whale sharks filter plankton out of the ocean water. These filter feeders will swim many miles in a single day searching for plankton. However, they move at very slow speeds, around three miles per hour. Scientists do not know much about whale shark reproduction, and a live birth has never been observed.

Whale sharks prefer warm oceans and have been found swimming in both coastal areas and deeper waters. They are migratory and can be found in the Gulf of Mexico in the fall and summer. Scientists tagged 42 whale sharks to watch their movement around the Gulf and discovered the largest gathering in the Gulf was off the coast of Louisiana. The sharks moved between coastal feeding areas and the open ocean waters in the Gulf. Whale sharks are considered “Endangered” by the IUCN.

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