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Blue
Shark World
Record
~ 528 Lbs Caught at Montauk Point, NY on Aug. 9, 2001 by angler Joe
Seidel Scientific
name
~ Prionace Glauca Other
names
~ Blue Shark, Blue Dog , Blue Whaler Identification
~ The blue shark's name comes from its distinct dark blue dorsal surface
and bright blue sides. Its ventral surface is a well-defined, crisp
white color. The blue shark has a slender, sleek-looking body with a
large eye and a long conical snout that is longer than the width of its
mouth. It has extremely long, pointed pectoral fins, which generally are
as long as the distance from its snout to posterior gill slit. The
dorsal fin is moderate in size and set back Size
~ The Blue Shark can reach
13 feet in length. Males are believed to be mature at four to five years
of age and at lengths between 6 feet
and 8 feet. Females mature at slightly older ages ranging from
five to six years and longer lengths from 7-10 feet. They are believed
to live for more than 20 years. Habitat
~ Being a pelagic species the blue shark's habitat consists of open
ocean areas from the surface to 1,148 ft in depth. They prefer cooler
water ranging from 44 F to 60 F but are known to have tolerances for
water 69 F or greater. When in the tropics the blue shark tends to seek
deeper waters with cooler temperatures. Blue sharks are found world wide
in temperate and tropical waters. They are a pelagic species that rarely
comes near shore but have been known to frequent inshore areas around
oceanic islands and locations where the continental shelf is narrow. In
the Atlantic they can be found from New Foundland, Canada to Argentina
and from Norway to South Africa, including the Mediterranean. They range
from South Africa to Indonesia and from Japan to New Zealand in the
Indian and western Pacific Oceans. In the eastern Pacific, blue sharks
range from the Gulf of Alaska to Chile. Feeding
Habits
~ The Blue Shark feeds on small bony fishes, such as herring and
sardines, and invertebrates, such as squid, cuttlefish and pelagic
octopi, make up a majority of the blue shark's diet. They easily feed on
certain species of squid that form large breeding aggregations, which
allows the blue shark to leisurely collect its unsuspecting prey.
Besides actively hunting for food, blue sharks are opportunistic feeders
and have been known to feed from gill nets and scavenge dead marine
mammals.
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