21st century skills library 4 Easy to Identify chapter 1 The blue shark is one of the most common sharks in the world Its sleek jet-shaped body is easy to recognize The blue shark is just one of about 400 other kinds of sharks in the world It was first identified and named by Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus in 1758 The blue shark is more curious than aggressive Although this fish rarely attacks humans it can be dangerous Blue sharks can harm divers who may have food items such as freshly killed fish with them Sometimes hungry blue sharks will charge a boat that is
exploring our oceans 5 carrying a large catch of fish People should treat any encounter with a blue shark with caution South America North America Africa Europe Australia Asia RANGE OF BLUE SHARK ARCTIC OCEAN PACIFIC OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN PACIFIC OCEAN range map Blue sharks avoid the colder waters around the poles
Blue sharks have a wide range They live in all tropical and temperate seas The sharks live in oceans from Newfoundland to Argentina and from Norway to South Africa They prefer to swim in mild or cool tropical waters Blue sharks are pelagic This means they are mostly found near the surface of deep open waters They can also swim or dive to as deep as about 1,100 feet 335 m below the surface Blue sharks rarely swim close to shore Blue sharks often migrate to follow warmer waters Blue sharks in the Pacific Ocean migrate north in the summer and south in the winter In the Atlantic Ocean blue sharks follow the ocean currents to migrate from the United States to Europe Other blue sharks migrate from northern Africa to the northern Caribbean Some blue sharks have traveled more than 3,000 miles 4,828 km This would be like traveling from California to Maine 6 21st century skills library
exploring our oceans 7 look again Look at this image closely What is something that surprises you about the blue shark Blue sharks are easily recognized in the ocean
