Rare goblin shark filmed alive for the first time in the deep sea

Scientists at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa have documented live goblin sharks in their natural deep-sea habitat for the first time, a historic breakthrough after decades of observing only specimens accidentally caught by fishing lines. Two healthy goblin sharks were recorded in 2019 and 2024 — one near Jarvis Island in the Central Pacific and another along the Tonga Trench slope, the latter setting a new depth record for the entire mackerel shark order. The findings, published in the Journal of Fish Biology, significantly expand the species' known geographic range and depth distribution beyond previously documented areas off the western United States, Australia, and Japan.