How do scientists follow makos? They put tags on them. Tagged makos off the US West Coast travelled as far north as Washington, as far south as Baja California, and as far west as Hawaii.

How fast can a mako swim? As of November 2026, the shortfin mako is considered the fastest shark in the world. In a 2023 study, tags worn by two free-swimming makos measured their swimming speed directly. The two makos cruised at an average speed of 0.90 metres per second. The fastest burst the tags recorded was 5.02 metres per second, from a female mako 2 metres long.

There are two kinds of tags. Pop-up tags float to the surface and send their data by satellite. Other tags send a signal each time the shark surfaces.

The tags also show how deep makos go. About 90 percent of the time, tagged makos stayed in the top 160 feet of the ocean. They occasionally dived as deep as 2,300 feet.

Scientists tagged 105 makos over 12 years, from 2002 to 2014, and found that some travelled nearly 12,000 miles in a year. Larger tagged makos off California travelled about 20 miles a day on average, and up to about 90 miles in a day.

Makos also come home. Makos tagged off California came back to the same offshore areas year after year. Waters off Southern California are a nursery area, and tagged makos returned there each year, most often in summer.

How does a mako go so far and so fast? It keeps its body warmer than the water around it. A 2015 study of tracked fishes found that those that warm their core swim about two and a half times faster than those that do not, and about twice as far. The shortfin mako is one of four shark species in that study that warm their bodies.

As of November 2026, the IUCN Red List lists the shortfin mako as Endangered. Makos are caught around the world, on purpose and by accident in fishing gear meant for other fish, and this overfishing has hurt their numbers.

A mako is a top predator. By eating smaller predators, makos help keep ocean communities balanced. It is a vital part of ocean life.

Words to know

• satellite: orbiting machine
• predator: animal hunter
• Endangered: at risk
• nursery: place for young