Advertisement

Newfoundland researchers capture video of elusive Greenland shark

Click to play video: 'Memorial University of Newfoundland scientists capture rare Greenland Shark on video'
Memorial University of Newfoundland scientists capture rare Greenland Shark on video
Scientists from the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland filmed the rare Greenland shark recently in the Canadian Arctic. Slow swimmers and effectively blind, the Greenland shark is one of the Arctic’s top predators – Mar 1, 2018

Researchers from Newfoundland and Labrador’s Memorial University have captured video giving scientists a glimpse into one of the world’s largest, and most elusive shark species.

The peer-reviewed study, written by Brynn Devine, Laura Wheeland and Johnathan A.D. Fisher, provides the first scientific estimates of the abundance of the Greenland shark in the deep, cold waters it calls home.

Despite historically being caught as a commercially fished species relatively little is known about the species. Up until 1960, the species was caught for its liver oil

READ MORE: Hilton, the 600-kg great white shark, spotted heading closer to Nova Scotia

According to Devine, the Greenland shark can grow to over six metres in length. They prefer the cooler regions of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Greenland shark can also live for an extremely long time, with one study estimating that they can live as long as 400 years — making it one of the longest-lived vertebrate in the world.

Story continues below advertisement

The shark is also the Arctic’s top predator — despite having limited vision and a relatively slow swimming speed when compared to other species.

Devine and her team of researchers used baited remote underwater video cameras off the coast of Nunavut to lure and then observe the sharks.

“We observed a wide range of shark sizes, from lengths well over three metres to quite small sharks, less than 1.5 metres in one particular region,” Devine told the Memorial University Gazette, the institution’s internal newspaper.

WATCH: New research paints grim future for Mako sharks in Atlantic Canada

Click to play video: 'New research paints grim future for Mako sharks in Atlantic Canada'
New research paints grim future for Mako sharks in Atlantic Canada

According to Devine, her team analyzed more than 258 hours of video data to help in the analysis.

The study argues that the findings will help fill in a “knowledge gap” surrounding the species, something that could be critical in understanding the species along with any possible future conservation efforts.

Story continues below advertisement

The cameras allowed the researchers to collect data on the depth and temperature of the water that the sharks commonly reside in, as well as the size and sex distribution.

Sponsored content

AdChoices