A rare ocean bottom-dweller of the shark family is the species known as the goblin shark, and a Georgia resident who was shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Florida coast caught one on April 19. The shark was not measured according to the 63-year-old fisherman, Carl Moore, but he guessed it was about 18 feet in length. Moore shared that he thought about getting his tape measure, but scrapped the idea when he looked at the menacing teeth of the prehistoric looking creature. He decided against taking the risk, and he and his crew released the shark back into the ocean after a few photo opportunities.
Goblin sharks have been sighted off the Atlantic coast of many countries, including France, Portugal, and South Africa. They were found in the western waters of the Pacific Ocean off Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and in U.S. waters off the California coast and south of Pascagoula, Mississippi, but few have been caught.
This latest goblin shark is indeed one of the largest anyone has come across. They are normally found at ocean depths from 885 feet to 3150 feet. The goblin shark feeds on a variety of prey, including shrimp, which could explain this shark being caught in Moores shrimping nets. Sightings of the elusive, reddish-toned, beady-eyed, sea creatures with a long flat snout are indeed rare. In his nearly 50 years of fishing in the Gulf, this was Moores first ever encounter with a goblin shark. He had no clue at first what he had in his nets.
