In the western Atlantic, the oceanic whitetip shark is found from Maine, U.S.A to Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. In the eastern Atlantic it is found from Portugal to the Gulf of Guinea, possibly occurring in the Mediterranean. In the Indo-Pacific, it is found from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahiti and Tuamoto islands. In the eastern Pacific it ranges from southern California to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. 