Dеvаnѕhі Каѕаnа, a Ph.D. candidate with Florida International University, and her colleagues have recently had a freak encounter with a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) in the middle of the Belize Barrier Reef. Notably, this is the first time that anyone has encountered a Greenland shark within the Western Caribbean.
The creature’s body length was somewhere between 10 to 11 feet long and it was specifically discovered within Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve. This particular species belongs to the “sleeper” family of sharks, a family commonly encountered within the chilly depths of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, and is a bulky creature with a round snout, undersized fins, and a grayish-brown coloring. The Greenland shark is believed to be the oldest living vertebrate in recorded science, known to live in excess of 400 years, and primary feasts on prey like polar bear carcasses. Kasana’s party encountered the Greenland shark while working with local fishermen to tag tiger sharks.
The circumstances of this discovery involved a lengthy nocturnal fishing session that saw the weather worsen as the sun began to rise. During one final check on their equipment, one of the lines revealed a sluggish-moving non-tiger shark. Some compared the discovery to something akin to an animate, long smooth stone. After analyzing the sea creature’s other characteristics, the collective narrowed things down and surmised it to be a sleeper shark of some variety. Upon considering the shark’s specific characteristics, consensus hovered around the beast being either a genuine Greenland shark or a hybrid between Greenland and a Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus).
The waters where the shark was discovered get quite deep, plummeting to a range as deep as 9,500 feet, making it cold enough for a Greenland shark to endure. Chapman has been leading shark tracking projections within Glover’s Reef for nearly 20 years and his data has been shared with a collaborative effort with the Belizean government, shark fishers, scientists, and other relevant groups; their efforts have helped to improve protections and prohibitions related to shark fishing within two miles of any Belizean atoll.
If you would like your own chance to discover just how wild and varied the world’s marine life can be, consider coming to Belize. Chabil Mar is one of the leading resorts in the country, especially as it offers tours of the Belize Barrier Reef, the penultimate largest barrier reef on the planet.
Visit Chabilmarvillas.com for more information on Belize, and don’t hesitate to send us an email, or call US/CAN Toll-Free: 1-866-417-2377, Local: (011-501) 523-3606, if you have questions or need help in planning a Belize vacation.
