More shark species visit Hilton Head than you may think. Here’s how many & what to know about them

Did you know that several shark species inhabit the waters around Beaufort County?

Although the species and their populations are ever-changing throughout the year, depending on the season, some are almost always nearby.

Although this may alarm some, it’s actually not as big of a concern as many may assume.

Just as sharks inhabit the ocean, including the waters around Beaufort County, some may find themselves in nearby rivers or even come close to the surf to feed.

Some species, such as the great white shark, are generally more of a winter species around Hilton Head Island, whereas others are predominantly only around in the summer months.

Depending on the season and how far from shore you may be, there could be between 20 to 40 different shark species you could encounter. However, if you’re only considering what you could come across within a few miles from shore throughout the summer months, this brings it to approximately 13 or 14 species of sharks in the area, Bryan Frazier, the principal investigator of shark research for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said to The Island Packet.

As for the shark species you may encounter in the surf, these could include blacktips, finetooths, bonnethead, spinner sharks or lemon sharks.

These species can generally be seen feeding in “pretty shallow water,” Frazier said.

Also occasionally seen swimming in the surf, the Atlantic sharpnose is one of the most common species found off the coast of South Carolina and many are caught as a result of surf fishing from the beach. The Atlantic sharpnose is one of the smaller species of shark.

Some of the bigger shark species, such as great white sharks, bull sharks, hammerheads and tiger sharks, can come close to shore but are generally not seen from the beach unless one is brought in after being hooked from surf fishing. However, they do feed in the nearby coastal waters.

If you do see a shark in the water, Frazier says there’s typically no need to panic.

“They are there most of the time. We don’t see them because the water is murky, but they are there. You know, that’s where they are supposed to be. They live in the ocean and they feed in that surf zone because there is bait in that surf zone,” Frazier said.

Blacktips and other sharks are generally seen in the surf around Hilton Head, Beaufort County and other coastal regions of South Carolina, feeding on small bait fish, such as mullet and menhaden, which are common in the surf zone. Whiting and small red drum are also common bait fish for certain varieties of shark that inhabit nearby surf zones.

As for bonnethead sharks, they can generally be seen in the surf feeding on blue crabs.

If you take notice of a shark feeding in the surf, it most likely may be a blacktip shark, which is easily identifiable by its black-tipped dorsal fin.

In the coastal waters surrounding Hilton Head Island and the rest of Beaufort County, bigger species like bull sharks are more prevalent in the deeper parts of the sound and river areas as there is more food in these locations. Fortunately, these are areas where people typically don’t go swimming. These species of bigger, more-lengthy sharks can include great whites, bull sharks, big tiger sharks, great hammerheads, scalloped hammerheads, lemon sharks, spinner sharks, sandbar sharks and blacktip sharks, according to Frazier.

The entirety of South Carolina’s coastal waters have all of the big sharks that can be found globally, depending on the time of year.