While the Blue Shark is large enough and has the serrated teeth capable of killing or eating a human. To date, there have only been 14 attacks with four of those being fatal.

The Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) is known for its blue colour and its distinctive body shape. Its has a large upper lob on its caudal fin and a pointed snout. The Blue Shark is sleek, it is long and it has large eyes. The shape of its body and the elongated shape of its caudal fin makes it a very effective and graceful swimmer capable of great speed and suitable for swimming long distances.

Blue Shark Distribution

The Blue Shark is found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are found close to the shore and out in deep water. They are not found in cold Arctic waters. The Blue Shark is found south from the 50&degN latitudinal line all the way down to the 50&degS latitudinal line.

Despite what many Canadians think, there are plenty of sharks off the coast of the cold Canadian waters located along the coastal waters of the maritime provinces: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The Blue Shark is the most common shark seen in Canadian waters.

It can be found in abundance from Newfoundland to Argentina. They spend much of their time roaming the ocean in search for food and it does so at a brisk pace. There is a story on the Internet about a tagged Blue Shark that travelled from New York to Brazil over the course of two months. This is a several thousand mile journey from one end of the globe to another. Not even whales move at this pace. We believe this to be a true account.

Blue Shark Food Preference

The speed at which they travel allows them to cover not only large distances, but to devour large quantities of squid and other fish. Because of the great distances that they do cover, these sharks are always hungry.

The Blue Shark will consume any food it can find. It will eat shrimp, jellyfish, squid and various fish including pollock, mackerel, butterfish, herring, silver hake, white hake, red hake, cod, haddock, sea raven and even large tuna and swordfish. However, the risk to people is minor.

Man Eater Danger Scale

While the Blue Shark is large enough and has the serrated teeth capable of killing or eating a human. To date, there have only been 14 attacks with four of those being fatal. As such, the Blue Shark gets a 7.5 on the man eater danger scale. You can reduce your chances of being attacked by avoiding splashing violently in the water and avoid wearing flashing objects in the water.

Always be aware of your surroundings when in the wild. Humans are not the top of the food chain when we are out of our environment and without our tools.