Yahoo Autos They can be the size of great white sharks and they swim in Puget Sound. Don’t catch them
Washington boasts a diverse and rich ecosystem, but it still may come as a surprise that our waters are home to no less than 12 species of sharks on the coast and Puget Sound.
If this thought elicits a reaction of: “I’m never going swimming again!” – you have little to fear. Since 1837, there have only been two unprovoked shark attacks on humans in Washington, both in Grays Harbor County. Neither was fatal.
The reality is that humans are a bigger threat to sharks than they are to us. Sharks are apex predators that keep biodiversity balanced by maintaining the species below them in the food chain. They ensure fish aren’t overutilizing a single area, taking out the weak and sick so disease doesn’t spread in populations. They’re positive markers for ocean health with each species playing an integral role.
Yet, sharks are still slowly recovering from a tarnished reputation, once depicted as fearsome human killers – a reputation that can sadly get them killed if they accidentally cross our path.
Which could be exactly what happened to the sixgill shark that I viewed a scientific dissection of recently. I had permission to view and photograph this scientific dissection via an invite by a longtime fisheries biologist friend. Dissections are not public events.
A reclusive deep-water species that’s generally found on the coast, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists think that sixgill sharks come into Puget Sound to pup.
While it’s unknown how long they stay for (and what their population sizes and exact diets are), the shallower waters of the Puget Sound have enabled us to learn more about them.
The Seattle Aquarium has been studying them since 2003 after they noticed the occasional sixgill underneath their pier. Divers have also seen them near Alki and Redondo Beach.
We know they can grow up to 14 feet in length – comparable in size to “great” white sharks –making them the third-largest predatory shark in the world. However, almost all sighted in Puget Sound are sub-adults.
On the WDFW lab table was a sleek, black female bluntnose sixgill shark, weighing 200 pounds with a total length of just over eight and a half feet, found deceased near Ross Point Lighthouse on Vashon Island.
Probable cause of death? Judging by the hook in her mouth and gaff mark on the left side of her head, she made a meal of someone’s bait and was likely killed during the careless release process. WDFW made this conclusion carefully after noting that her internal organs were unharmed, healthy even.
A gaff hook is used to help lift heavy fish out of the water onto a boat; it should never be used when trying to release an animal without harm.
