Jaws Under Ice

A Univ. BC publication reports on a UBC marine biologist's study of Greenland sharks:

"In the frigid, murky waters of the St. Lawrence River in Québec, UBC marine biologist and veterinarian Chris Harvey-Clark is painting a clearer picture of a mysterious predator that could be the longest-lived vertebrate on the planet.
"The Greenland shark typically inhabits the deep, dark waters between Greenland and the polar ice cap. At over six metres long and weighing up to 2,000 kilograms, it is the largest shark in the North Atlantic and the only shark in the world that lives under Arctic ice. Once heavily harvested for its vitamin A-rich oil -- as many as 50,000 were caught annually according to a 1948 estimate -- little is known about the animal." ...
"In 2003, after tracking the enigmatic animal for five years, Harvey-Clark and fellow diving enthusiast Jeffrey Gallant followed leads to Baie-Comeau, a small town about 400 kilometres northeast of Québec City. There, the pair documented -- for the first time under natural conditions -- Greenland sharks reveling in shallow water." ...
"By tagging the sharks and tracking them in real time, the team has learned that some females remain in the area, in extreme depths, while males travel up-river towards Québec City, where marine mammals are abundant." ...
"Another major finding is that almost none of the sharks observed in this area have parasites on their eyes, a disease that affects 98.9 per cent of Arctic sharks and severely affects their vision, virtually blinding them."

[Full news posted to StrangeArk archive.]