Upon learning about a deceased Greenland shark washing up on the northwestern coast of Ireland, Emma Murphy, a zoology curator at the National Museum of Ireland, was astonished.
These massive and ancient sea creatures are famously elusive and typically inhabit the remote depths of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans.
“I was in disbelief,” Murphy shared with As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. “We were incredibly thrilled.”
The National Museum of Ireland describes the species as “exceptionally rare” in Irish waters, marking the first known instance of one being stranded on Ireland’s shoreline.
As Irish scientists examine the remains of the unfortunate shark, a researcher suggests that the species may have a broader distribution than commonly believed.
Oldest living vertebrate on Earth
A passerby sighted the shark near Sligo on April 11 and contacted the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, a conservation organization with a hotline for reporting stranded sea mammals.
The individuals who found it initially mistook it for a dead basking shark, a species frequently found off the Irish coast.
Subsequent identification of the species through photos by scientists at the charity prompted a notification to colleagues at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
“We are eager to go there, to be frank,” Murphy expressed.
According to the St. Lawrence Shark Observatory, the Greenland shark is one of the largest carnivorous shark species globally. Ranking second only to the great white shark, it typically measures between three and five meters in length, with potential growth up to seven meters.
It holds the title of the world’s longest-living vertebrate, boasting a lifespan exceeding 270 years. The oldest recorded specimen was estimated to be 400 years old.
Extensive habitat range beyond expectations
Although the primary habitat of the Greenland shark is the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, including regions like Quebec and Atlantic Canada, shark expert Dean Grubbs suggests that Ireland falls within the known range of the species.
“Given their large size and mobility, as long as the temperatures remain cold, typically below 6 degrees Celsius, there are minimal barriers to their movements,” stated Grubbs, associate research director at Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, in an email to CBC.
Spending most of their time around 2,000 meters beneath the ocean’s surface, these sharks have been found in surprising locations such as Belize and the Gulf of Mexico.
“It is highly probable that they are more widespread than currently acknowledged,” Grubbs noted. “There is simply a lack of sufficient deep-sea exploration to frequently encounter them.”
‘Remarkably exquisite creatures’
Due to their habitat in depths inaccessible to divers, Greenland sharks are seldom observed by humans.
The first images of a live Greenland shark underwater were captured in 1995 in the Arctic, followed by the first video at the St. Lawrence Estuary in 2003.
Therefore, when Murphy and her team had the chance to view one up close, they were overwhelmed.
“We had to navigate through numerous rocks, similar to a surf break, to reach the shore where the shark lay,” she described. “We were extremely excited, almost running when we approached it.”</p