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Blue Shark Facts & Worksheets

the blue shark is a species of requiem shark in the Carcharhinidae family

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The blue shark, commonly known as the great blue shark, is a kind of requiem shark of the Carcharhinidae family that lives in deep waters throughout the world’s temperate and tropical oceans.

See the fact file below for more information on the Blue Shark or alternatively, you can download our 32-page Blue Shark worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

 CHARACTERISTICS

  • Prionace glauca is the scientific name for the blue shark, a species of requiem shark in the Carcharhinidae family.
  • Prionace is derived from the Greek words “prion” meaning saw and “akis” meaning point, and glauca is taken from the Latin term “glaucas” meaning bluish-gray or green in English, alluding to the shark’s blue color.
  • Carcharhiniformes features are common among family members. This shark’s eyes are circular, and one or two gill slits run across the base of the pectoral fin.

DISTINCT FEATURES

  • The blue shark possesses distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from other sharks. The blue shark has a long conical snout that is longer than the width of its mouth and a thin body with a giant eye.
  • This shark also has unusually long pointed pectoral fins that are usually as long as the space between its snout and posterior gill slit.
  • The dorsal fin is large and placed back, closer to the pelvic fin insertion than the pectoral insertion point. 
  • The caudal peduncle has a short keel, and the tail is narrowly lobed with a long ventral lobe. 
  • This shark has a dark-blue dorsal surface, vibrant blue flanks, and a well-defined, crisp white ventral surface. The color difference is known as countershading, and it serves as camouflage for the shark in the open ocean.
  • The blue shark is 1.1 to 1.4 ft [35-44 cm] long at birth. Male blue sharks are expected to mature at 4 to 6 years, with lengths ranging from 6 to 9.2 feet [182 to 281 cm]. 
  • Female blue sharks develop at a slightly older age (5 to 7 years) and reach lengths of around 7.2 ft [220 cm]. Their maximum length is around 12.5 ft [380 cm], and they are believed to live for more than 20 years.

HABITAT, DISTRIBUTION, AND RANGE 

  • Blue sharks are among the most widespread shark species, with populations found in all major seas (excluding the Arctic), including the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Since the blue shark is an aquatic and oceanic species, its habitat consists of open ocean areas ranging from the surface (0) to 1,148.3 ft (350 meters). 
  • They prefer cooler water with temperatures ranging from 12 to 20°C, and when they are in tropical oceans, they seek deeper waters with lower temperatures. 
  • Their nursery areas are offshore, although they occasionally come inshore at night, especially on oceanic islands or when the continental shelf is narrow.

ECOSYSTEM ROLES

  • Pilotfish have a mutualistic symbiosis with blue sharks. They clean the shark’s teeth and gills and remove any parasitic species attached to the shark’s skin. In return, the blue shark protects pilotfish from predators and is a ready food source.

FOOD HABITS

  • Blue sharks eat up to 24 different types of cephalopods and 16 different types of fish, including tiny bony fish like herring and sardines, as well as crustaceans like squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish. They primarily eat during the night but are known to feed over all 24 hours of the day. Blue sharks usually aggregate to feed on schools of prey, but prey on marine birds, grabbing them from the surface when they are resting.

REPRODUCTION

  • In the summer, blue sharks swarm on continental shelves. When a male blue shark bites a female blue shark between her first and second dorsal fins, mating starts. As a result, the skin across the top of a female’s dorsum can be up to three times thicker than a male’s. 
  • Insemination happens when one of the claspers is inserted into the female’s urogenital opening. Pair bonding does not exist, and individuals split after mating.
  • Blue sharks are viviparous, meaning they nurture their young in the uterus and give birth to 25 to 50 live pups. Litters of up to 135 pups have been seen in exceptional cases. These newborn pups range from 16 to 20 inches and are self-sufficient from birth.

CONSERVATION

  • The blue shark is listed as “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of species because it is the most extensively fished shark globally, with annual worldwide catch estimates of over 20 million individuals per year.
  • However, this species is rarely targeted economically, as bycatch from longline and driftnet fisheries. The primary conservation concern that must be addressed is lowering the death rates of blue sharks trapped as bycatch.

BEHAVIOR 

  • Blue sharks cruise at the surface slowly, with the ends of their dorsal and tail fins visible from the water and their lengthy pectoral fins extended. They are incredibly migratory, with complex migrations based on prey availability and reproductive cycles. 
  • Blue sharks migrate clockwise in the Atlantic, following the Gulf Stream from the Caribbean up to the US coast and east to Europe, south to Africa, and back to the Caribbean. Blue sharks may form gender-specific schools of conspecifics of similar size.
  • Blue sharks are divided into age groups, sexes, and reproductive phases: juveniles, subadults, mature sharks, and pregnant females are typically located in distinct locations, with adult males and females only meeting briefly to mate. 
  • Seasonally, sharks migrate to higher latitudes where prey is more plentiful in productive oceanic convergence or boundary zones. They make numerous vertical excursions into deep water or to the thermocline, returning to the surface on a regular basis (possibly to prevent body cooling).

IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS

  • Commercial fisheries seldom target blue sharks, but they are commonly taken as bycatch or in driftnet fishing. Each year, it is predicted that 10 to 20 million blue sharks are killed due to fishing. Blue shark meat is edible but not commonly sought after; it is used fresh, dried, smoked, and salted, as well as in fishmeal. While their skin is used to make leather, their fins are used to make shark-fin soup, and their liver is used to make oil. Blue sharks are considered sportfish in the United States, Australia, and Europe, and are known to fight well on light tackle.

DANGERS TO HUMANS

  • The blue shark is not violent, but it is pretty curious and may approach divers and spearfishers if food is available. 
  • Blue sharks have been responsible for thirteen unprovoked shark bites globally, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF).
  • The ISAF list of records of unprovoked attacks by blue sharks shows that there were nine non-fatal unprovoked attacks and four fatal unprovoked attacks.
  • However, the ISAF also declared that tooth remains are seldom found in wounds of the attacked human, and diagnostic characteristics of many requiem sharks in the Carcharhinidae family, like blue sharks, are difficult to predict even for trained professionals.
  • While not very hostile, blue sharks are not timid and should be handled with caution, especially if they have been circling, since they may attempt an exploratory bite during test feeding (ISAF 2018).
  • There have been three reported attacks resulting from air or sea disasters, and numerous reports mention blue sharks biting shipwrecked sailors floating in the open ocean. 

Blue Shark Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Blue Shark across 32 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching about Blue Shark which live in deep waters throughout the world’s temperate and tropical oceans.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Blue Shark Facts 
  • Matchy Body
  • Deep Word SEArch!
  • Name This Pic!
  • Fill Me, Complete Me!
  • Feed Baby Blue Shark
  • Color & Locate
  • Unscramble Me!
  • SHARKword Puzzle
  • Fact or Bluff?
  • Shark-TICLE

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are blue sharks found?

Blue sharks are among the most widespread shark species, with populations found in all major seas (excluding the Arctic), including the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. Since the blue shark is an aquatic and oceanic species, its habitat consists of open ocean areas ranging from the surface (0) to 1,148.3 ft (350 meters). They prefer cooler water with temperatures ranging from 12 to 20°C, and when they are in tropical oceans, they seek deeper waters with lower temperatures. Their nursery areas are offshore, although they occasionally come inshore at night, especially on oceanic islands or when the continental shelf is narrow.

Do blue sharks attack humans?

The blue shark is not violent, but it is pretty curious and may approach divers and spearfishers if food is available. Blue sharks have been responsible for thirteen unprovoked shark bites globally, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). The ISAF list of records of unprovoked attacks by blue sharks shows that there were nine non-fatal unprovoked attacks and four fatal unprovoked attacks.

Are blue sharks actually blue?

Prionace glauca is the scientific name for the blue shark, a species of requiem shark in the Carcharhinidae family. Prionace is derived from the Greek words “prion” meaning saw and “akis” meaning point, and glauca is taken from the Latin term “glaucas” meaning bluish-gray or green in English, alluding to the shark’s blue color.

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Link will appear as Blue Shark Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 9, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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