The Blue Sharks of the Azores… For a diver, no visit to the Azores would really be complete without experiencing one of the archipelago’s most extraordinary marine encounters.
Diving with the blue sharks of the Azores…
There are few things quite like looking down into the deep blue of the North Atlantic. And seeing the sleek form of a blue shark emerge from the darkness below.
Graceful, incredibly streamlined and intensely curious.
These remarkable pelagic predators seem perfectly designed for life in the open ocean.
And while encounters with blue sharks are possible in several parts of the world, those in the Azores are particularly special.
The islands sit in the middle of the North Atlantic. Surrounded by deep ocean and intersecting important migratory routes used by a remarkable variety of pelagic species. And the blue sharks (Prionace glauca) that frequent the waters around the Azores are very much creatures of that open ocean.
Built for the Open Ocean…
Blue sharks are instantly recognisable. Their long, slender bodies, pointed snouts and unusually long pectoral fins give them an elegant, almost aerodynamic appearance.
That combination makes them highly efficient swimmers.
They are perfectly adapted to a life spent travelling enormous distances through the pelagic environment.
Their colouration is equally distinctive. The upper body is a deep blue-grey, fading to a much lighter underside. While their common name comes from the characteristic blue coloration of the skin.
The large eyes are another striking feature, particularly when a shark approaches close enough for you to look directly into them.
Blue sharks are among the most widely distributed sharks in the world, occurring throughout temperate, tropical and subtropical oceans. But they are fundamentally pelagic animals, spending much of their lives away from coastlines and over deep water.
That lifestyle means they are also exceptionally well travelled. Tagging studies have demonstrated just how extensive their movements can be. In one study, 11 tagged blue sharks travelled a minimum of more than 11,000km during a 256-day monitoring period. An average of more than 40km per day. One individual was also recorded at a depth of 696m.
Those figures give some idea of the extraordinary scale of the blue shark’s world. The Azores may be a small group of volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic, but for these sharks they form part of a much larger oceanic landscape.
Why the Azores Matter to Blue Sharks
The relationship between blue sharks and the Azores is becoming increasingly interesting as researchers learn more about the species’ movements through the North Atlantic.
The waters around the archipelago appear to play an important role in the life cycle of blue sharks. With research indicating that the wider region is used by sharks at different stages of their lives. Tagging studies have also shown that young blue sharks can remain around the Azores for their first couple of years before beginning the long-distance migrations characteristic of adults.
The area south of the Azores has also been identified as an important region for reproduction. Making the archipelago an important part of the broader North Atlantic blue-shark ecosystem.
It is a fascinating reminder that the islands are not simply isolated specks of land in the Atlantic. They sit within a vast and dynamic ocean environment used by highly migratory animals that may travel thousands of kilometres during their lives. And that is one of the things that makes encountering a blue shark here so special. You are not visiting a shark site in the conventional sense. Rather you are entering the open-ocean world of a genuinely pelagic animal.
Diving with the Blue Sharks of the Azores
Blue-shark diving is a relatively recent addition to the Azores’ growing reputation as a destination for encounters with large pelagic animals.
Local operators developed techniques for attracting the sharks towards the dive boat from the surrounding deep water. The encounters take place offshore, in exceptionally clear Atlantic water. And the combination of deep ocean and excellent visibility creates a spectacular setting.
The principal area for blue-shark encounters is offshore around the waters between Faial and Pico. With operators departing from both Horta on Faial and Madalena on Pico.
There is always the possibility of encountering other pelagic species too, including the occasional mako shark.
The actual experience is quite different from a conventional reef dive.
There is no bottom to explore and no wall or wreck to provide a visual reference. Instead, you enter the water and position yourself beneath the boat. Usually attached to a line while the sharks circle in the blue around you.
And beneath your fins is the abyss. Which makes good buoyancy control particularly important. You need to be comfortable in open water, maintain your position without constantly changing depth. And, perhaps most importantly, resist the temptation to chase the sharks.
The sharks are coming to you… And the first time a blue shark appears out of the blue, it can be a slightly surreal experience. One moment there is nothing but deep blue water. Then a shape materialises in the distance, gradually becoming recognisable as a shark. As it approaches, the incredible proportions of the animal become apparent. With their long body, extended pectoral fins and distinctive pointed snout.
They can move extremely quickly when they choose to. But the sharks I encountered in the Azores were generally content to cruise around the boat at what appeared to be a relatively leisurely pace.
That gave us time to appreciate them rather than simply watching a fleeting silhouette disappear into the distance.
The water clarity is another major part of the experience. Because the encounters take place in deep oceanic water, visibility can be extraordinary. On a calm day, sunlight penetrates surprisingly far beneath the surface, creating shafts of light that illuminate the sharks as they move through the blue.
For an underwater photographer, the effect can be spectacular – almost like cathedral lighting in the middle of the Atlantic.
Are Blue Sharks Dangerous?
This is inevitably one of the first questions people ask about any encounter with a large shark.
Blue sharks are powerful predators and, like all large wild animals, should be treated with respect.
There have been documented interactions between blue sharks and humans. But serious incidents are uncommon and their behaviour towards divers is generally very different from the image of a stereotypical aggressive shark.
There are also long-standing stories about blue sharks being responsible for attacks on survivors of shipwrecks during World War II.
While such accounts exist, separating historical anecdote from reliably documented evidence is difficult.
My own experience in the Azores was much less dramatic. The blue sharks I encountered were intensely curious and showed remarkably little fear of the divers.
They would approach, circle and investigate before moving away and then returning again.
Their behaviour reminded me in some ways of the oceanic whitetip sharks I encountered at Cat Island in the Bahamas.
The big difference was the absence of the persistent bumping and close-contact behaviour that oceanic whitetips can sometimes display.
As always with wildlife encounters, the fact that an animal behaves calmly does not make it predictable. The sharks are wild animals, and giving them space and allowing them to control the interaction is an important part of the experience.
Photographing Blue Sharks of the Azores
My trip to the Azores was the first outing for the Nikon D500 and Nauticam housing, I was using at that point in time. And the combination proved to be an excellent rig for photographing these fast-moving sharks.
I used either the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye zoom with a 100mm Zen dome. Or Tokina 11-16 rectilinear zoom with a Zen 230mm dome. All the images on this pages were taken with one of those lens/dome combinations on the D500. But I subsequently moved to the Nikon 8-15mm fisheye zoom with a Nauticam 140mm dome, which was an excellent match.
I was using dual Ikelite DS160 strobes for all the images.
Blue Sharks can move really fast when they want to, but most of the time in the Azores they seem content to cruise around at what appears to be leisurely pace. But even then it still requires a high shutter speed to freeze that motion and get sharp images!
My technique in the Azores was the D500 on Manual with the shutter speed at 1/250 and an aperture of f8 or f11. Metering was set for centre-weighted and I adjusted the ISO to get the correct exposure – but usually it came out about ISO400. I had the autofocus set to AF-C and a single point in the centre of the frame.
Using back-button focus I would lock the AF point on the shark’s eye and then rec-compose around whatever it was doing. Letting the D500 do its stuff and maintain the focus – which it did every time!
The Azores – When to Go…
The timing of blue-shark encounters in the Azores is closely linked to the seasonal movements of the animals.
Research indicates that blue sharks are resident around the archipelago during the warmer months, with sharks commonly encountered from approximately July through October. The wider North Atlantic is an enormously important environment for the species, and individual sharks undertake extensive migrations beyond the Azores.
The exact timing of encounters can vary, of course, and as with any wildlife experience there are no guarantees. Weather and sea conditions are also important considerations when planning an offshore trip.
For divers and underwater photographers, however, the summer and early autumn period offers the best opportunity to experience these remarkable animals.
Encounters with Truly Pelagic Sharks
The Azores are already famous for their volcanic landscapes and extraordinary concentration of marine life. But blue sharks offer something quite different.
This is not an encounter with a shark that lives around a reef, patrols a wall or shelters beneath a ledge. It is an encounter with a genuinely oceanic animal – one that may travel thousands of kilometres during its lifetime and spend much of that time far from land.
Hanging beneath the boat with the deep Atlantic disappearing beneath you, watching a blue shark materialise from the blue and slowly approach, gives you a very real sense of that world. For me, that is what makes blue-shark diving in the Azores so memorable.
You are not simply diving with a shark, for a brief time, you are entering its world.