At a glance

Length

Typically 2–3 m; up to around 4 m

Depth

Surface to several hundred metres

Diet

Reef and open-water fish, squid, octopus and rays

Status

Critically Endangered

How to recognise it

The flat, wing-like “hammer” has an arched front edge with a notch in the centre — the scallops. Eyes at the very tips. A tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin, and black tips under the pectoral fins.

Where we meet them

Off the deeper channel mouths at dawn, schooling over the blue — and on our Hulhumalé Shark Tank Dive.

Best timeJanuary – March, when the northeast monsoon lights up the eastern channels.

Behaviour

By day they gather in schools, sometimes in the hundreds, over channel mouths and seamounts; at night they split up to hunt alone. The hammer spreads out their senses — wide-set eyes and a broad sweep of electroreceptors that can find prey buried in the sand.

Diving with them

Shy, and easily put off by bubbles and noise. Early starts, deep blue water and a slow, quiet approach make for the best encounters.

Status & protection

Critically Endangered. Hammerheads are among the sharks hit hardest by the fin trade, and schooling makes them easy to catch in large numbers. The Maldives banned all shark fishing in 2010.