Novel in-water observation of breaching behaviour in the oceanic whitetip shark Carcharhinus longimanus

Breaching behaviour is reported across elasmobranchs but remains poorly documented in pelagic carcharhinids. Here we report an opportunistic in-water observation of a breaching oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) from the Maldives. A single individual rapidly ascended while rotating, breached about 2 m above the surface before re-entering. No prey was present. A pilot fish (Naucrates ductor) detached during the ascent and did not reattach. This observation provides direct evidence of breaching in this species.