For the first time, scientists have filmed live goblin sharks swimming freely in their natural deep-sea habitat, giving researchers a glimpse of one of the world’s rarest and most mysterious sharks without removing it from the ocean. The discovery also pushes the known depth limit for the species by almost 700 metres and expands its recognised range across the Pacific Ocean.The findings were published in the Journal of Fish Biology and were led by a research team from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. The study describes two separate encounters with healthy goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni), marking the first confirmed observations of the species alive in its natural environment.Until now, every verified sighting or video of a live goblin shark had come only after the animal had been accidentally caught by fishing gear and brought to the surface. Although scientists and divers were able to observe the sharks briefly, the animals usually died soon afterwards.The latest observations change that picture entirely by documenting goblin sharks behaving naturally in the deep ocean.
Two encounters hundreds of kilometres apart
One goblin shark was spotted near a seamount close to Jarvis Island in the Central Pacific, while the second was recorded along the slope of the Tonga Trench.They are often referred to as “living fossils”. These goblin sharks are the only surviving members of a shark family that dates back around 125 million years. Their distinctive long, flattened snout and protruding jaws have made them one of the most recognisable deep-sea sharks, yet they have remained hidden because of the extreme depths at which they live.The two sightings also suggest goblin sharks occupy a much larger area of the Pacific than scientists previously believed.
Rare goblin shark filmed alive for the first time in the deep sea
Record-breaking depth surprises researchers
The Tonga Trench encounter proved to be significant because it established a new depth record for the species.“Seeing the most iconic of all the deep-sea sharks alive and looking healthy in its natural habitat is a unique honor,” said Aaron Judah, lead author of the paper and doctoral candidate working in the Deep-Sea Fish Ecology Lab and Deep-Sea Animal Research Center (DARC) in the Department of Oceanography at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.He added: “I was also very surprised about how deep this species was found. The observation from the slope of the Tonga Trench is nearly 700 meters deeper than this species was known to live.”Judah said the discovery goes beyond goblin sharks alone.The Tonga Trench observation also sets a new depth record for the entire order of Lamniformes, commonly known as the mackerel sharks. This group includes well-known species such as the great white shark, basking shark and mako shark.
Hidden in plain sight
One of the study’s most surprising discoveries actually came from footage that had been sitting in an archive for years.The first sighting emerged after Judah spoke with colleagues at DARC in 2025. They mentioned that a possible goblin shark had appeared in video recorded during a 2019 Ocean Exploration Trust expedition aboard the exploration vessel E/V Nautilus. The expedition explored deep-sea ecosystems around Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll and Jarvis Island within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.“I was shocked to hear this because this species was not to be known to be in the Central Pacific,” said Judah.The expedition used the remotely operated vehicle Hercules to explore the seabed while recording extensive video footage. Researchers at the University of Hawai’i later archived and annotated the recordings for public access.After carefully reviewing the footage, Judah confirmed that one of the videos, captured during a livestreamed dive at an unnamed seamount northwest of Jarvis Island, had indeed recorded a goblin shark swimming in its natural habitat.The finding meant the first confirmed wild observation had actually been waiting in archived footage for several years before being recognised.
A second shark confirms the discovery
Researchers received even stronger evidence during a separate expedition five years later.The second goblin shark was filmed during a 2024 expedition to the Tonga Trench aboard the research vessel R/V Dagon. The voyage formed part of the Inkfish Open Ocean Expedition, led by scientists from the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center.Instead of using a remotely operated vehicle, researchers deployed a baited camera attached to a bottom lander resting on the seafloor. The camera captured clear footage of another goblin shark swimming freely in the deep ocean.“The Goblin Shark is one of these deep-sea charismatic animals that I never thought we’d see alive, and then to do so was amazing, but to then learn that colleagues in Hawai’i also saw one was just incredible,” said Alan Jamieson, professor and founding director at Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center and co-author of the study, who documented the 2024 sighting.Having two independent observations from different locations gave researchers confidence that the species’ known distribution needed to be revised.
Expanding the goblin shark’s map
Before these discoveries, goblin sharks had been recorded only from relatively limited parts of the Pacific Ocean, mainly off Japan, Australia and the western United States. They were also known from scattered locations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.The two new sightings from the Central Pacific extend the shark’s recognised range and suggest the species may be more widespread than previously thought.That could influence future conservation planning.Judah said recognising the shark’s presence in regions where it was previously unknown allows it to be included in local biodiversity records and management plans.“It is really important that we still perform natural history work,” Judah said.They added: “New discoveries like this demonstrate that there is still so much to explore in our deep ocean home. Given the newly-expanded geographic range of the goblin shark, this species can be included in regional management and a nationʻs biodiversity list, whereas, beforehand we didnʻt know it was even there!”
A reminder of how little is known about the deep ocean
The study also shows the value of revisiting archived scientific data.Without researchers taking another look at video collected during the 2019 E/V Nautilus expedition, the first wild goblin shark sighting might have remained unnoticed. Combined with the 2024 Tonga Trench footage, the evidence provides the clearest picture yet of a species that has remained hidden despite existing for around 125 million years.
