Scientists have captured the first-ever live footage of the rare goblin shark in its natural deep-sea home. This elusive creature was filmed at two different spots in the Central Pacific.
The goblin shark is known for its unique look: a long snout, jaws that can shoot out, and a history going back nearly 125 million years. Despite its fascinating features, no one had ever seen it alive in its natural habitat until now.
A team from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa led this discovery. Their findings, published in the Journal of Fish Biology, detail two sightings. One was near a seamount off Jarvis Island, and the other was along the slope of the Tonga Trench.
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Start Your News DetoxBefore this, live goblin sharks were only seen after being caught on fishing lines and brought to the surface, where they usually died quickly. These new observations offer a never-before-seen look at the species. They also show that the shark lives in a much wider area and deeper waters than previously thought.
Aaron Judah, the lead author and a doctoral candidate at UH Mānoa, expressed his surprise. He noted that seeing the shark alive and healthy was a unique honor. He was also amazed by how deep they found the species. The sighting in the Tonga Trench was almost 700 meters deeper than its known living depth.
Expanding the Known Range
The Tonga Trench sighting also set a new depth record for all mackerel sharks, an order that includes great white sharks and mako sharks. Previously, goblin sharks were only known in specific areas off the western U.S., Australia, Japan, and parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These new Central Pacific sightings greatly expand where we know the species lives.
In 2025, Judah learned about a possible goblin shark sighting from 2019. This happened during an Ocean Exploration Trust expedition aboard the E/V Nautilus. The expedition explored deep-sea ecosystems near Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Jarvis Island.
Judah was shocked because the species was not thought to be in the Central Pacific. The remotely operated vehicle Hercules had recorded video during that cruise. This footage was publicly archived. After reviewing it, Judah confirmed the team had filmed a goblin shark during a dive northwest of Jarvis Island.
Record-Breaking Depths in the Tonga Trench
The second sighting occurred during a 2024 expedition to the Tonga Trench. This was part of the Inkfish Open Ocean Expedition. A baited camera on a bottom lander captured footage of a goblin shark in its natural environment.
Aaron Judah combed through archived footage to confirm a goblin shark was observed in its natural habitat on a cruise in 2019. Credit: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Alan Jamieson, a professor and co-author who documented the 2024 sighting, called it amazing. He never thought they would see a goblin shark alive. He was also thrilled to learn that colleagues in Hawai‘i had seen one too.
Judah stressed the importance of natural history work. He said new discoveries like this show how much more there is to explore in our deep ocean. Because the goblin shark's known range has expanded, it can now be included in regional management and biodiversity lists.
Deep Dive & References
First in situ observations of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni - Journal of Fish Biology, 2026
This study received funding from NOAA Ocean Exploration, Inkfish LLC, and the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre.
