Bay of Fundy sees dozens of blue shark sightings

The Bay of Fundy attracts plenty of visitors but one in particular is drawing a lot of attention.

Blue sharks might be one of the most dominant sightings along the Atlantic coast, but they are rarely seen in the Bay of Fundy.

Now, a video of a blue shark sighting in the Bay of Fundy is making the rounds on social media. According to a marine research organization in New Brunswick, there have been more than 30 sightings in the past week alone.

The video, posted by the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station, shows a blue shark wading through the Bay of Fundy on a sunny day.

According to the organization, blue sharks are rare and infrequent visitors to the Bay of Fundy, but that’s changing as water temperatures rise.

“These beautiful, slender animals are deep blue on their dorsal surface, with white patches on their snouts, their pectoral fins, and on their ventral surfaces,” reads a Facebook post by the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station. The white underside of the shark is known as “countershading,” making it harder for prey to see them when looking up from under the surface.

The research station noted that blue sharks populate all oceans except polar waters, and while they often remain at depth in tropical waters, the sharks will also venture closer to shore in warmer temperatures, with water temperature preferences ranging from 12 to 20 degrees Celsius.

The organization also pointed out that blue sharks are believed to have a strong sense of smell, regularly eating squid, bony fish and seabirds.

“We don’t know what has brought so many blue sharks to the Bay of Fundy this summer,” the social media post continued. “Whatever the reason, it is always fun to see these curious sharks gliding along and then rapidly turning away when they see the boat.”