Oceans 4Ever

Hello, O4E readers! It’s not Halloween, but it IS time again for freaky fish. This our first Freaky Fish Friday in more than half a year, so we want to warm things up for 2010. Are you ready?

Today’s du jour is (drumroll, please)…the GOBLIN SHARK! This is one incredible creature that definitely does NOT like the limelight. Let’s jam it up with some important facts about this amazingly freaky shark (in your face, JAWS!):

• This shark is a deep water-dwelling shark, often found out and about at night at the bottom of an abyss – usually around 900 feet to as far down as 4100+ feet. Rarely ever is one spotted in shallow waters.
• The biggest one found to-date was about 12.5 feet long and 463 pounds.
• The Goblin shark has been found off the coast of Guyana (Atlantic) as well as off the coasts of Japan, Austrailia and New Zealand (Pacific), in the Indian ocean and even off the California coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Few Goblin sharks have ever been caught, making a sighting, much less an encounter, a rare event.

But here is the rare event - a video featuring an up-close encounter with a Goblin shark. I know it’s in Japanese, but don’t worry if you don’t understand it – you won’t want to miss these chompers in action (in your face again, JAWS)! What do you think?

Have a great weekend!

~Alexa

Hi O4E readers, this is Alexa.

In today’s post, I want to tell you that SHARKS DO NOT HAVE TO BITE.

Yes, they look fierce, with fierce teeth and everything, but, the look isn’t all there is to a shark.

I want to make you aware of our friend David Shiffman’s (of Why Sharks Matter fame)upcoming interview with Discovery Channel Senior Science Editor and Executive Producer Paul Gasek about Disovery’s Shark Week, which features movies on T.V. like “Deadly Waters” and “Shark Bite Summer,” that can make sharks look like scary predators that don’t deserve to be on this planet.

But dude, they’re not always fearsome. Sharks only attack if they feel threatened. Also, shark attacks are actually very RARE. Take the whale shark, for example (the biggest shark in the world). It’s actually a gentle giant that eats only plankton, krill and small fish.

If you’re concerned about the bad rap sharks are getting, too, please visit Southern Fried Science and check out David’s call for questions post and submit your own question or questions for the Discovery Channel. David may ask your question in his interview and post the answer he receives.

Remember, sharks are important to this earth, too.