Greenland shark recovered by boat skipper

A boat skipper said he was "dumbfounded" to find a possibly centuries-old Greenland shark in waters off Cornwall.

Trev Worth was out training with his crew member Kingsley when they spotted the "ginormous" creature in the water.

"We were that shocked that we found it that there was there was this moment of silence on board, surely it's not that Greenland shark," he said.

It is believed to be the same shark spotted dead in Newlyn Harbour.

Although the fish was photographed on the shore, it was swept out to sea before experts could examine it.

The Marine Strandings Network (MSN) said this was only the second record of a Greenland shark to strand in the UK - the last one being in 2013.

The shark's body was spotted by 16-year-old Kingsley on Tuesday evening and recovered at the request of the MSN.

"I looked to the starboard side of the boat and I saw there was a dead animal of some sort in the water," he said.

"It was a process of elimination," Mr Worth added.

"It's not dolphin. It's not seals. It's got to be the Greenland shark because we knew there was one in the area.

"I was just dumbfounded to be honest."

The shark, which was landed in Newlyn, will be examined by a vet pathologist.

"It's a two-fold feeling," Mr Worth said.

"You're upset to have found it, but at the same time that hopefully the science community will learn a lot about the shark, its cause of death and we're still waiting to find out how old it is given its size - there's estimations of anywhere between three and five hundred years."

Abby Crosby from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust said Greenland sharks are "incredibly rare" and one had not washed up on the UK coastline since 2013 in Northumberland.

She said although finding the dead shark was "really sad" it offers an "opportunity" to study the animal in more detail.

"So a fascinating creature and a fascinating opportunity for us to look more closely at its biology and its ecology," said the marine conservation officer.

Greenland sharks can grow up to 5m (16ft) in length.

They can be found, swimming slowly, throughout the cold, deep waters of the North Atlantic.

Researchers have previously said that the sharks grow at just 1cm a year, and reach sexual maturity at about the age of 150.

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