First Peer-Reviewed In‑Situ Observations of Goblin Sharks Documented in the Pacific

Researchers have published the first peer-reviewed in-situ observations of a goblin shark alive in its natural deep-sea habitat, a small but important milestone for one of the ocean’s most elusive species. The report, published as a brief communication in the Journal of Fish Biology, is based on video from two separate Pacific encounters and shows how remotely operated vehicles, baited camera systems and even archived footage can reveal animals that are rarely seen alive.

The paper, first published online May 19, 2026, documents sightings from 2019 and 2024 and says they extend the goblin shark’s known geographic range into the central Pacific and the Tonga Trench area. The deeper of the two sightings also pushes the species’ documented depth range farther down.

One shark was recorded in July 2019 at an unnamed seamount northwest of Jarvis Island in the central Pacific, at a depth of 1,237 meters, or 4,058 feet. That animal was filmed by a remotely operated vehicle during an Ocean Exploration Trust expedition and identified later through archived footage. The second shark was recorded in August 2024 on the slope of the Tonga Trench in the southwest Pacific, at about 1,997 meters, or 6,550 feet. It was captured on a baited camera mounted on a bottom lander during the Inkfish Open Ocean Expedition. Reporting on the study described the Jarvis shark as a large male about 3.4 meters, or roughly 11 feet, long, while the Tonga individual was likely female.

That distinction matters because goblin sharks have been seen alive before, but usually only after they were caught and brought to the surface by fishing gear. The new paper presents these as the first published, peer-reviewed observations of the species in its habitat. Public summaries of the research said the Tonga sighting was about 700 meters deeper than previous goblin shark sightings, while the paper itself said it extends the known depth range for lamniform sharks — the shark order that includes goblin sharks and mackerel sharks — by 108 meters. The Tonga clip lasted only about 20 seconds, underscoring how brief and rare such encounters can be.

Goblin sharks, Mitsukurina owstoni, are often described as living fossils, though the term can obscure how little scientists still know about them. The species is the only living member of its family, a lineage that dates back about 125 million years. It is known for its elongated snout and protrusible jaws, but because it lives in deep water, most of what researchers know has come from specimens collected after capture rather than direct observation in the wild.

“Seeing the most iconic of all the deep-sea sharks alive and looking healthy in its natural habitat is a unique honour,” lead author Aaron B. Judah of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa said in a university release. Co-author Alan J. Jamieson of the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre added: “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.”

The findings point to a broader lesson beyond a single shark sighting: deep-sea video archives and remote camera systems are becoming essential tools for documenting species that humans almost never encounter directly. The authors say more remote video sampling will be needed to better understand where goblin sharks live and their conservation status.