BCDEMarine Life LibraryBlueCurrent Digital Ecosystem
← Back to species explorer
AtlanticSouthern Ocean

Porbeagle Shark

Lamna nasus

Image credit: NOAA · Public domain · Source

Content context

BCDE canonical profile

Global species information is maintained separately from regional and consumer-specific context.

Porbeagles retain metabolic heat in selected tissues and range through productive cool-water habitats of both hemispheres.

Image gallery

Select any thumbnail to open the unobstructed full-size image in a separate window.

NOAA photograph of the head of a captured porbeagle (Lamna nasus).
Historical identification photograph; the animal is shown out of water.NOAA · Public domain · Source
Aquarium suitability

Wildlife education and professional assessment

A large, active lamnid shark requires facility-specific movement, nutrition and welfare assessment. This Canadian conservation profile does not endorse private keeping.

Reviewed 2026-09-30. This is an applicability assessment, not a captive-care protocol.

Worldwide Distribution

The North Atlantic and a broad band of cool waters across the Southern Hemisphere.

Habitat and Movement

Continental shelves, shelf edges, banks, and offshore waters, with vertical and seasonal movements following prey and temperature.

Feeding and Ecological Role

It is an active predator of schooling fishes and cephalopods in cold-water marine food webs.

Biology and Life History

Porbeagles are live-bearing, mature late, and retain metabolic heat in selected tissues for activity in cold water.

Global Threats and Conservation

Historic directed fisheries, continuing bycatch, late maturity, and low reproductive output result in slow recovery.

Aquarium suitability

A large, active lamnid shark requires facility-specific movement, nutrition and welfare assessment. This Canadian conservation profile does not endorse private keeping.

Regional context

Porbeagle Shark in Canada

Closely tied to Canada's Atlantic offshore conservation and fisheries-management history.

Canadian regions
Atlantic Canada, Scotian Shelf, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador
Canadian status
Consult current COSEWIC, SARA, and DFO information
Protected-place connections

Protected areas associated with Porbeagle Shark

These MPA profiles identify this species as significant life. Association does not mean its entire range is protected.

Laurentian ChannelCanada · Atlantic Ocean

A living record

Canonical global profile supplied by the BlueCurrent Digital Ecosystem (BCDE). Public content last reviewed August 23, 2026.