Rare goblin shark caught in Taiwan (5 photos)

Fishermen caught a rare fish off the northeast coast of Taiwan a brownie shark, or a goblin shark, weighing 800 kilograms. She was pregnant with six cubs, and became the largest shark ever caught in these waters.





Fishing boat caught off the northeast coast Taiwan's huge 800-pound goblin shark. Rare deep sea the shark was pregnant with six cubs, and its length was 4.7 meters. Initially, the fishermen planned to sell their catch to a restaurant - but The Taiwan Ocean Museum had other plans for her. It turned out, this is the largest goblin shark caught in these waters, so its taken to the museum - and they plan to make an exhibit out of it. shark in the future will be used for educational purposes.



The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) lives at depths up to 1200 meters. The diet of these sharks consists of crustaceans, crabs, deep sea squid and fish. Their length ranges from 2.4 to 3.7 m. They are really rare: only 45 specimens of this shark are known to science, that have been caught or washed ashore. Besides, this the only living members of the shark family Mitsukurinidae, which arose about 125 million years ago.



These sharks look intimidating - especially their jaws and outgrowths. on the nose, which helps them find prey even in deep darkness. When the goblin shark catches prey, it extends its jaws, and together with the victim draws water into the mouth. They are pinkish and gray in color, and it often turns brown after death. Color can also be pinkish purple if the shark's blood vessels are damaged fishing gear.



Taiwanese fishermen catch a pregnant shark trawling (towing the net along the seabed). Conservationists condemn this method, because trawls destroy marine organisms, which leads to a decrease in world fish stocks, destroys corals, and destroys the bottom landscape. Although bottom trawling is prohibited in many countries, a study published in the journal Fisheries Research, shows that 6.6 million tons are caught this way fish per year.