Freaky-looking goblin shark caught by fisherman in Taiwan. See the record-breaker
Fisherman off the coast of Taiwan pulled in a surprising — and somewhat frightening — catch: a massive, pregnant goblin shark. The record-breaking shark was almost sold to a restaurant.
The fisherman caught the freaky-looking shark while bottom trawling off the coast of Su’ao Township, the Taiwan Ocean Artistic Museum said in a June 13 Facebook post. The accidental catch was identified as a goblin shark.
Goblin sharks are a poorly understood and rarely seen shark species named for their “long and scraggly” teeth, according to Oceana. The sharks have a distinct head shape with a protruding forehead. Most of a goblin shark’s life is spent in the dark depths.
The shark caught near Su’ao was the largest goblin shark ever caught in Taiwan, the museum said.
The massive female shark weighed about 1,763 pounds and reached about 15.4 feet in length, Taiwan News and Liberty Times Net reported.
這麼奇特美麗的動物，多麼希望是看到牠在海裡優游，而不是躺在漁港的地上！牠肚子裡還有寶寶啊！（圖／台灣海洋藝術館臉書）
【宜蘭漁民「底拖網」捕罕見史前深海惡魔鯊 網批：這該禁！】https://t.co/0jAH7YChUE#鯊魚 #動物 #shark #Taiwan #台湾 pic.twitter.com/FA6RGAc7ac— 自由時報 (@ltntw) June 13, 2023
Video footage from Formosa TV News Network showed the huge shark being moved with a forklift and set into the bed of a truck.
The goblin shark was pregnant with six babies, or pups, the museum said in a June 15 Facebook post. The pups were between about 3.9 and 4.2 feet long and each weighed about 8 pounds.
The babies already had teeth, leading museum officials to conclude they were very close to being born. Video footage shows the baby sharks laid out on a platform.
Goblin sharks grow in eggs and hatch inside the mother before a live birth, according to Fishes of Australia.
The goblin shark was almost sold to a restaurant for consumption, but Taiwan Ocean Artistic Museum intervened, museum officials said. The shark will be preserved, studied and eventually exhibited.
Su’ao Township, also spelled Su-au township, is along Taiwan’s northeastern coast and about 45 miles southeast of Taipei.
Facebook Translate and Baidu Translate were used to translate the posts from Taiwan Ocean Artistic Museum. Google Translate and Baidu Translate were used to translate the YouTube video from Formosa TV News Network and article from Liberty Times Net.
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