UH Scientists Capture 2 Live Goblin Shark Sightings, Extending Range by Nearly 700 Meters
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Jun 24
UH Scientists Capture 2 Live Goblin Shark Sightings, Extending Range by Nearly 700 Meters
1 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Jun 24
Summary
Two live goblin sharks were documented in their natural deep-sea habitat for the first time, with sightings near Jarvis Island and along the Tonga Trench, a University of Hawai‘i-led study reported.
The Tonga Trench animal was found nearly 700 meters deeper than the species’ previously known limit, setting a new depth record for Lamniformes and widening goblin sharks’ known habitat.
The evidence came from archived 2019 E/V Nautilus video reviewed in 2025 and a 2024 baited-camera recording from the Inkfish Open Ocean Expedition aboard R/V Dagon.
Because earlier live observations occurred only after goblin sharks were caught and brought to the surface, the Central Pacific footage also expands the species’ known geographic range beyond previously limited Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean records.