Mako Sharks

Sharks are the stuff of nightmares for many people, and while most of us may have not have even actually encountered a real shark, just watching movies and videos about them sends chills down our spines. The movie Deep Blue Sea, released in 1999, captured audiences with its jaw-dropping portrayal of sharks.

One of the sharks showed in the movie was a mako shark. This shark, also known as a shortfin or longfin mako shark depending on the subspecies, is a huge mackerel shark that lives in almost all of the world's oceans and seas. Shortfin sharks are known to dwell in tropical and temperate waters while longfin sharks prefer to live near gulf stream waters. 

Many mako sharks are known to dive deep, about 490 ft or 150 m from the water's surface. However, these sharks also have a tendency to stay near by the island shore or at coral reefs especially when hunting. 

Around the western parts of the Atlantic, these sharks can be seen in the Maxican Gulf ,Nova Scotia and Argentina. Up north in Canada, they are common but not abundant. It’s been observed that if there are many swordfish in one area of the ocean, you’re more than likely to find multiple mako sharks nearby. Swordfish more or less live in the same environmental conditions as  mako sharks and they are their natural prey.

Mako sharks are known to take long travels and swim rapidly when hunting. A female mako captured and tagged in California was recaptured in the Pacific after just a few days. It’s estimated that the mako shark can swim, at an average, over 58 km in a day.

Mako Sharks Video