Image 7-21
Reef Shark and Coral

This image of a coral reef was captured by NOAA photographer LCDR Eric Johnson on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Jarvis Island in the Pacific Ocean. It shows a gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) swimming just above some beautiful stony corals. Sharks are a common sight on coral reefs. The abundant sea life on the reef provides a steady diet for large predators like sharks. The gray reef shark is one of the most common reef sharks in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is often seen in shallow water near the drop-offs of coral reefs.