Blue shark
Prionace glauca
Not Kosher
Has fins but no scales
Fins
Yes
Scales
No
Description
The blue shark, also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans. It is the only living species of genus Prionace.
Blue shark meat is edible but not widely sought after, eaten fresh, dried, smoked, and salted or sent to fishmeal. The skin is used for leather, the fins for shark fin soup, and the liver for oil.
Blue sharks live in deep temperate and tropical waters from the surface down to about 350 m, off the coasts of every continent except Antarctica. They prefer water between 12 and 20 C but turn up in temperatures ranging from about 4 to 31 C.
Also known as
- great blue shark
Blue shark in foreign languages
| Scientific | Prionace glauca |
| Hebrew | כריש כחול |
| Arabic | قرش أزرق |
| Spanish | Quella |
| Portuguese | Tubarão-azul |
| Italian | verdesca |
| German | Blauhai |
| Greek | Γλαυκοκαρχαρίας |
| Russian | Синяя акула |
| Turkish | Pamuk balığı |
| Chinese | 鋸峰齒鯊 |
| Japanese | ヨシキリザメ |
| Korean | 청새리상어 |
| Bengali | ব্লু শার্ক |
| Vietnamese | Cá mập xanh |
Gallery
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- Has fins but no true scales, only tooth-like placoid denticles, so it is not kosher.
- There's a report of high concentrations of heavy metals, specifically mercury and lead, in the edible flesh.