Boy catches shark
Cosmo Miller had a big fish tale to tell at school after summer vacation. In his case, it was true too.
The 9-year-old caught not just a big fish, but one people almost never encounter.
He pulled up a sixgill shark with his fishing rod from the waters of Puget Sound. He didn’t keep it. He turned it loose - after family caught a photo.
Read more and see the picture in a Seattle Times story.
It’s incredibly rare for this kind of shark to come to shallow enough waters to be caught. Sixgills are a deep water shark. In fact, encounters are so rare there are no reports of any human ever being attacked by a sixgill.
What many people don’t realize is there are plenty of these sharks right in Puget Sound. Watch our story this week to learn more about why scientists think they’re here, just feet away from Seattle.
Eric Cheng was surprised how dark many of them are. Some of them are almost black. He’s a professional underwater photographer who graciously allowed Oregon Field Guide to join him and two friends on a dive in Puget Sound to see sharks from the safety of a dive cage. Team Hydrus set up the exotic ‘tour’ with safety and photos in mind.
If you ever see a sixgill shark, the Seattle Aquarium would like to hear from you. Fill out their Sixgill Shark Tracking Form. They’ve got long term research(PDF) going on about these mysterious animals.
