 Patchy records from around the world indicate the bignose shark probably has a circumglobal distribution in tropical and subtropical waters . In the Atlantic Ocean , it occurs from Delaware Bay to Brazil , in the Mediterranean Sea , and off West Africa . In the Indian Ocean , it is known in South Africa and Madagascar , the Red Sea , India , and the Maldives . In the Pacific Ocean , it has been recorded from China to Australia , around Hawaii , and from the Gulf of California to Ecuador . It is reportedly common off Florida , the Bahamas , and the West Indies , and rare off Brazil and in the Mediterranean . 
