Video: Researchers Stunned After Rare Encounter With A 16ft Bluntnose Sixgill Shark
Researchers were stunned after they got to experience the presence of a 16ft long bluntnose sixgill shark in the Bahamas.
More footage of six-gill at 528 meters from inside the sub last saturday. This sequence was taken by Lee Frey, our multi-talented sub pilot/engineer/inventor who designed the solenoid triggered spear guns for sub-based tagging. Thanks again to the entire OceanX team. Amazing.. pic.twitter.com/hnW4hQLhm7
— Gavin Naylor (@gavinnaylor) July 2, 2019
The team of researchers was led by the Florida State University and was under the water in a submersible.
The researchers were under the water to tag a bluntnose shark, but when the shark appeared, it just took their breath away.
The director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gavin Naylor, called the experience as “magical” and said that it was like seeing a “T-Rex”.
He added, “We were in pitch darkness in this globe. I was completely transfixed by being underwater in this other world. The hair on the back of my arms was standing up.”
More six-gill footage taken from sub last saturday w/ sub-pilot Lee Frey and photographer Janssen Powers. The sub's 7inch thick acrylic dome makes things appear smaller than they are, but we estimate the animal here to be ~ 5 meters long. For more follow @OceanX pic.twitter.com/JjmiFviqXp
— Gavin Naylor (@gavinnaylor) July 5, 2019
Gavin also explained why he called the experience like seeing a “T-Rex”.
He said, “This lineage has been around for 100 times as long as Homo Erectus (the ancient ancestor of humans), and these sharks haven’t changed that much.”
The researchers managed to tag one of the most mysterious sharks in the world.
It took the researchers 3 expeditions, 2000 pounds of meat bait, custom-built spear guns, and more than a number of tries.
The tag that was shot into the 16 feet shark will be used to record data about the shark.
After three months, the tag will automatically float to the surface and will transmit all the stored data in it and will be sent to a satellite that will store the data.
The data will be used to know the sharks better.