Goblin Shark Caught: 'Man, He's Ugly!' Says Shrimp Fisherman (PHOTO)
A goblin shark was caught in the Gulf of Mexico by a longtime shrimp fisherman last month, and the rare find is only the second of its kind ever caught. The goblin shark could date back to prehistoric times and is hardly ever seen.
The goblin shark was caught by 63-year-old Carl Moore of Townsend, Georgia. He was on an 18-day fishing trip when he hauled the large, pinkish shark up onto the deck. Although Moore has seen quite a few rare fish in his 50-year career as a fisherman— 1,500-pound turtles and Bahamian anglefish, just to name a few— nothing prepared him for this.
"First thing I told them boys was, 'Man, he's ugly! Looks prehistoric to me," the shrimp fisherman told CNN.
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The goblin shark has sharp, spiny teeth that it most likely uses to spear fish and squid, a curved, almost beak-like jaw, and an elongated head. The largest goblin shark ever caught was also in the Gulf and was 18 feet long, but when Moore realized what he had found, he didn't have time to measure it.
"I didn't even know what it was," he told The Houston Chronicle. "I didn't get the tape measure out, because that thing's got some wicked teeth, they could do some damage."
However, he was able to take a picture with his new cell phone, which he had only gotten to show his young grandson what his fishing trips are like. After taking photos, Moore released the goblin shark back into the ocean and alerted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of his find, which in turn called shark expert John Carlson.
"As a whole we know very little about these animals — how old they get, how fast they grow, where their nurseries are," Carlson told Live Science. "They look more prehistoric, because they're adapted to life in the deep sea."
Most goblin sharks are spotted in the waters around Japan and measure around seven or eight feet long.
