• The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is one of the largest and most potentially dangerous of North Carolina's coastal sharks, reaching 18 feet in length. Tigers are nicknamed "trashcans with fins," feeding on a wide variety of prey including large fishes, dolphins, sea turtles, other sharks, and occasionally scavenging garbage.. Sharks lack the air bladder of bony fish to maintain buoyancy. Some sharks such as the Sand Tiger are gulpers and surface periodically to swallow air to assist in buoyancy. Large liver, can occupy as much as 90% of the body cavity or be 25% of the body weight in some species. Adds buoyancy because oils of liver have lower specific gravity than.