Blue Shark

Name:

Blue Shark

Scientific Name:

Prionace glauca

Characteristics:

The blue shark, Prionace glauca, is a carcharhinid shark which is found in the deep waters of the world's temperate and tropical oceans. They prefer cooler waters and are not found, for example, in the Yellow Sea or in the Red Sea. Blue sharks are known to migrate long distances, from New England to South America for example.

Although generally lethargic, they are capable of moving very quickly if the need arises. Blue sharks are viviparous and are noted for their large litters of 25 to over 100 pups. They feed primarily on small fish and squid, although they are perfectly capable of taking larger prey should the opportunity present itself. They are often found in schools segregated by sex and size, and this behavior has led to their being nicknamed the "wolves of the sea".

Fish Habitat:

The blue shark is the most widely distributed animal in the world. It is an oceanic and epipelagic shark found worldwide in deep temperate and tropical waters from the surface to about 350 meters. In temperate seas it may come closer to shore where it can be observed by divers, while in tropical waters it occurs at greater depths. It is found from as far north as Norway to as far south as Chile.

Blue sharks are found off the coasts of every continent, except for Antarctica. In the Pacific its greatest concentrations occur between 20° and 50° North but with strong seasonal fluctuations. In the tropics it is uniformly distributed between 20° N and 20° S. It prefers waters with a temperature range of 7 to 16°C but will tolerate temperatures of 21°C or above. It is highly migratory with records from the Atlantic showing a regular clockwise migration within the prevailing currents.

Adult Size:

Blue sharks are light-bodied with long pectoral fins. The top of the body is deep blue, lighter on the sides, and the underside is white. A blue shark grows to 3.8 m (12.5 ft) long. The shark's typical weight is 136 kg (300 lb) to 182 kg (400 lb) and can grow to 205 kg (450 lb). The highest reported weight was 391 kg (861 lb). They are rarely confused with other sharks.

Fishing Tactics:

Looking for sharks offshore is just the same as looking for tuna. Try to find the areas where colder bands of water meet up with warm bands of water. This is typically where gamefish hang out, and in turn where sharks hang out too because sharks eat tuna (along with everything else in the ocean).

Monitor your water temp gauge while motoring to find these areas. Also trolling or chumming along underwater ledges, drop offs, or submerged ships, boats, etc. will prove to be productive. Once found, record these areas in your GPS for future reference! If you happen to come across tuna boils or moving schools of tuna or dolphin, get you boat out in front of them and put the lines in the water!

Tuna usually follow dolphin, and sharks follow everything only to be so kind as to eat any stragglers that fall behind! You can get multiple hook-ups this way by first landing your tuna, then chumming hard for the sharks immediately thereafter!