Blue sharks are easily recognised by their elongated, slender bodies, striking blue coloration, and notably long pectoral fins. They primarily inhabit deep, cold, open waters, surfacing mainly to hunt or give birth. As a highly migratory species, blue sharks are distributed across all the world’s oceans, with the exception of Antarctic waters.

Blue sharks are most commonly encountered by fishers as bycatch. Although they are generally considered rare in coastal areas, a study conducted between 2012 and 2017, which tagged 39 individuals, confirmed that blue sharks regularly occur in coastal waters of the western Mediterranean basin (Poisson et al., 2024). Since the 19th century, global populations are estimated to have declined by more than 96%, with their meat frequently sold in fish markets and supermarkets. In the Mediterranean Sea, blue sharks are among the most heavily exploited shark species and are currently listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to overfishing and the illegal trade of fins.