Migration & seasonality
One of the largest coastal shark migrations in North America.
Every year hundreds of thousands of blacktips move up and down the US East Coast, and the Volusia County shoreline is a front-row seat to both directions of the run.
Right now · August
Summer peak — warm water, big crowds, maximum overlap.
Summer is when blacktip and human activity coincide most sharply at New Smyrna Beach. Warm, often stained water holds bait against the sandbar while the lineup is at its busiest. This is the window that produces the majority of Volusia County's bite statistics — almost always minor, exploratory strikes in poor visibility.
Seasonal calendar
The blacktip year at New Smyrna Beach
Twelve months of where the population sits and what it means for the lineup. Open any month for a live, cited brief from the research desk.
Warmest water of the year, murky inlet outflow and a busy lineup all day.
Live monthly brief
What drives it
Four forces behind the run
Water temperature
Blacktips track a fairly narrow thermal band. Movement north begins as nearshore water passes roughly 70°F, and the southbound return follows the autumn cool-down.
Bait availability
Migration is really about food. Mullet, menhaden and sardine movements dictate where the sharks concentrate week to week.
Reproductive timing
Mating and pupping in shallow coastal nurseries anchor part of the population inshore during late spring and summer.
Coastal geography
The Ponce de Leon Inlet, its sandbars and the outflow of the Indian River system funnel both bait and sharks into a very small stretch of water.
A changing pattern
Researchers tracking blacktip aggregations off southeast Florida have documented smaller and later winter aggregations in warmer years, consistent with a northward shift in the thermal band the species follows. If that trend continues, more of the population may winter further north — which would change both the timing and the intensity of the spring run past New Smyrna Beach.
For current-season science, use the research assistant below, or watch the live updates feed.
Ask about Blacktips
Research assistant with live sources
Ask about biology, migration, behavior, conservation or New Smyrna Beach conditions. Answers are generated from current sources and returned with citations.