Blue shark (Atlantic and Pacific populations) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 12

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Special Significance of the Species

This species is one of the most abundant, widespread, fecund, and fast growing shark species worldwide and likely is a very significant component of pelagic oceanic ecosystems throughout the tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. Blue shark has very low value in the marketplace and is often discarded when caught as bycatch. The meat is rarely marketable due to the rapid breakdown of urea in the muscle tissue into ammonia immediately following death thereby tainting the meat. The fins are of low value but may contribute an estimated 50-70% of the international fin market traded through Hong Kong (Nakano and Seki 2002). It is thought that most of these fins originate from high seas North Pacific waters and are captured by Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean vessels.