Sphyrna media
Small hammerhead with a spade-shaped head, living near the coast and the bottom, from the equatorial Pacific to southern Brazil. Little known. Critically Endangered in Brazil and worldwide: capture banned.
Also called: tubarão-martelo-colher, cação-martelo, cação-cornudo
The scoophead shark is a small hammerhead, up to 150 cm, from the western Atlantic (from Panama to southern Brazil) and the eastern Pacific (from the Gulf of California to Ecuador and probably northern Peru). It lives in coastal areas over continental shelves, near the bottom, and is little studied: FishBase only records that it is viviparous, with a placenta, and that it is used fresh and for fishmeal, in a small commercial fishery. It is Critically Endangered worldwide (IUCN, 2019) and in Brazil, where it is on the national list, and it is in Appendix II of CITES. For the beach or boat angler who hooks it by accident, the job is to recognize it by its head and release it right away.
Head shaped like a scoop or spade, short and rounded at the front (hence the names scoophead, in English, and cuchara, in Spanish). It is one of the smallest hammerheads on the coast: FishBase gives a maximum of 150 cm. In several countries the names 'cabeza de pala', 'tiburón pala' and 'cuchara' apply both to this hammerhead and to the bonnethead (S. tiburo), which also has a rounded head, which makes the two easy to confuse. As all hammerheads are protected in Brazil, when in doubt release it and treat it as protected.
Loading the next 7 days…
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Western Atlantic: from Panama to southern Brazil, according to FishBase, which covers the whole Brazilian coast by latitude. Eastern Pacific: from the Gulf of California to Ecuador and probably northern Peru.
Habitat: Coastal areas over continental shelves, near the bottom, from about 8 m (FishBase). FishBase does not give the maximum depth.
coast
Estimate: no known season. Legal information: capture is banned year-round in Brazil.
Any time. Little known: FishBase describes the species as little studied, with no time of activity indicated.
Species of warm and subtropical waters; cold water keeps animals away from shallow areas. Effect little measured.
Not well known.
Not well known.
Not very relevant.
Not applicable at sea.
Not well known.
Rough seas prevent surf fishing and fishing from small boats.
Not well known.
Near the bottom, from about 8 m (FishBase).
accessories
If a hammerhead is hooked by chance, don't bring it out of the water: cut the line close to the mouth or remove the hook with pliers, release it right away and don't waste time on photos.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: On the national list of threatened species as CR; capture banned throughout Brazil. IUCN global assessment: CR (A2bcd), of 08/02/2019. Appendix II of CITES (FishBase). ICCAT prohibits retaining hammerhead sharks (except S. tiburo) in the fisheries it manages (Rec. 10-08). Hammerhead sharks of the genus Sphyrna were already protected by Portaria MMA 445/2014.
The national list (Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026) classifies the species as CR. Under Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3), VU, EN and CR species have full protection: catch, transport, storage, processing and trade are banned. If you hook one by accident, release it right away, with minimal handling.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026, art. 3º, and Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026
Finning is banned in Brazil (catching sharks and rays and keeping only the fins, discarding the rest of the body). The rule covers landing, transport and trade by fishing vessels: every shark or ray must arrive with its fins naturally attached to the body (partial cutting to fold them against the body is allowed); it is forbidden to carry on board an animal without fins or with loose fins, and to transfer sharks and rays between vessels. This does not authorize catching this species, which is prohibited.
In recreational sport fishing in Mexican marine waters, the limit for sharks is one animal per angler per day, which counts as five toward the total limit of ten fish (no more than five of the same species). Animals over the quota may only be released alive, in good condition for survival (catch and release), and sport-caught fish may not be sold. Sport fishing also may not take place in closed areas or seasons or in natural protected areas without the proper permits. The scoophead is Critically Endangered worldwide: prefer to release it.
NOM-029 is the rule for commercial-scale shark and ray fishing: it applies to holders of permits for targeted fishing of these animals and to those who catch them by accident (item 1.2), and it covers commercial fishing vessels (item 4.2.1); sport fishing has its own rule, NOM-017. It bans using only shark fins (item 4.2.1) and provides for closed seasons and closed zones, set by notice in the DOF, for targeted fishing (items 4.2.3 and 4.3.4: no targeted fishing in closed seasons, within 5 km of coral reefs, in front of river mouths and lagoons, in front of turtle nesting beaches, and near sea lion colonies). The species is in Normative Appendix A (sharks of the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea).
NOM-017 (item 4.10 a) prohibits recreational fishing in closed zones and seasons, and NOM-029 (item 4.2.3) requires the authority to set closed seasons for sharks and rays by notice in the DOF; the dates change and vary by coast. On Aug 1, 2025, the Secretaría de Agricultura and Conapesca announced, for the Pacific coast, the use of sharks and rays from August 1 to April 30 (May to July are excluded, our interpretation from the announcement) and, in Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán, a closed season from August 1 to 29. We did not find the official notice in force in 2026: confirm the dates with Conapesca before fishing.
In 2021 Colombia stopped considering sharks and marine rays a fishery resource and began treating them as a hydrobiological resource; the recitals of Decree 281/2021 state that they may not be extracted for commercial or sport purposes, and the decree created an environmental protection plan. Later AUNAP rules dealt with incidental catch in artisanal fishing; we did not check the consolidated text. When in doubt, release it into the water.
Executive Decree 9/2026 (art. 19) bans, throughout the national territory and in sport, recreational, or tourism fishing, the catch, retention, handling for recreational purposes, use, and landing of sharks and rays (subclass Elasmobranchii). If one is hooked by accident, it must be released immediately, without taking it fully out of the water and without unnecessary handling. It is also prohibited to promote them as targets in tournaments (art. 19) and to sell the catch (art. 20). The decree takes effect six months after its promulgation on June 10, 2026 (art. 40), around Dec 10, 2026, and repeals Resuelto ADM/ARAP 002/2012 (art. 39). Confirm the date with ARAP.
Many sharks and rays are on the national list (CR, EN or VU), with catching, keeping and transport prohibited, including those listed here. Species added to the list only in 2026 follow the 180-day deadline (until about Oct 25, 2026). If unsure of the species, release it.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3º) and nº 1.667/2026 (Annex I)
This is not catch and release: it is release of accidental catch. Leave the animal in the water, cut the line flush with the hook or remove the hook without taking the shark out of the water, and release it right away; avoid photos and do not hold it by the gills.
Capture and trade banned in Brazil. Outside the country, FishBase records use of the fresh meat and for fishmeal.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00347, b = 3.12; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
—
The seasonal weights (months), the time of day, the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise), the water temperature range and the common size range are the app's editorial estimates, supported by FishBase and by the literature cited below, with no measurements of our own for this species. The months show when an angler may find the species near the coast, not a catch season. They are not official data and may vary by region and year. Legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
Your location is saved only on this device and feeds the forecast, the map and the "today" on the home page.
