Dead Sixgill Shark washes up on Puget Sound beach!

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:21 pm

Wow! How'd you like to go for a stroll on the beach and find THIS!

http://www.kirotv.com/news/11154686/detail.html

Make sure that you look at ALL of the photos. The ones showing the teeth and the baby shots are particularly interesting.

- John

Pinkpadigal · Post by **Pinkpadigal** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:05 pm

Sad...makes you wonder though if it wasn't another causalty of the low O2 levels in Hood Canal.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:22 pm

Pinkpadigal wrote:Sad...makes you wonder though if it wasn't another causalty of the low O2 levels in Hood Canal.

Except that it is not in Hood Canal.....Hamersley Inlet is WAY south in Puget Sound, just west of the southern tip of Hartstene Island. It's REALLY shallow there, so I wonder if the dead shark drifted for a long time before winding up there on that beach.

- John

boydski · Post by **boydski** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:48 pm

John Rawlings wrote:.....Hamersley Inlet is WAY south in Puget Sound, just west of the southern tip of Hartstene Island. It's REALLY shallow there, so I wonder if the dead shark drifted for a long time before winding up there on that beach.- John

Hi John,

I grew up on Hammersley Inlet, and like you, I was pretty amazed that a large sixgill washed up on a beach there. Most of the inlet is less than 30' deep with only a few spots that reach only to about 50'.

However, then I remembered that when I was a kid (a loooong time ago), we had a dogfish derby in the Inlet and one of the kids reeled in a (very much alive) Sixgill shark right in front of Walker Park.

We've also seen juvenile sixgills around Itsami Ledge, which is very shallow and not far from Hammersley Inlet, so I'm thinking theres more to their reproductive cycle than just deep, dark and cold. Maybe they head to shallow water to give birth? Who knows?

enchantmentdivi · Post by **enchantmentdivi** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:57 pm

Is that blood that is all over it?

If so, foul play?

Jenn

boydski · Post by **boydski** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:23 pm

enchantmentdivi wrote:Is that blood that is all over it?

If so, foul play?

Jenn

Dept of Fish and Wildlife disected the shark and found all of the unborn baby sharks inside. I believe that is the source of the blood in the photos.

Pinkpadigal · Post by **Pinkpadigal** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:33 pm

So much for my Puget Sound/Hood Canal Geography. ](*,) Thank you all for correcting me!

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:03 pm

boydski wrote: I grew up on Hammersley Inlet, and like you, I was pretty amazed that a large sixgill washed up on a beach there. Most of the inlet is less than 30' deep with only a few spots that reach only to about 50'.

However, then I remembered that when I was a kid (a loooong time ago), we had a dogfish derby in the Inlet and one of the kids reeled in a (very much alive) Sixgill shark right in front of Walker Park.

We've also seen juvenile sixgills around Itsami Ledge, which is very shallow and not far from Hammersley Inlet, so I'm thinking theres more to their reproductive cycle than just deep, dark and cold. Maybe they head to shallow water to give birth? Who knows?

Well, it's pretty well known that at least here in the PNW the females come into shallower water to pup....but I would have NEVER expected them in such shallow water as that inlet. Still, your memory of one being caught on rod and reel when you were a kid proves that they have historically been there. Just goes to show how little we REALLY know about the species.

For any of you that have had fun tugging a Sixgill's tail at Cove 2, what did you think of that photo showing the teeth?

- John

jeff98208 · Post by **jeff98208** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:24 pm

tis sad to see a six gill ready to pup, & loose its life before the pups had the chance to live.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:45 pm

Holy #$%^! That's wild!

I'm wondering though....seems to me there have been quite a few 6 gill sightings in the last two months, months when we're not supposed to see them....I wonder if something is amiss?

Cwest · Post by **Cwest** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:58 pm

I was told that everytime there has been a bait put out at the aquirem in Seattle sharks have shown up. There just seems to be many more around in the summer.
I am intrested in what killed it. Does anyone know of any way to follow this story?
A fisherman I know saw a six footer floating in the narrows last year in the early summer.I guess if they live here they will die here.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:19 am

Some information about the Sixgill shark as well as the Aquarium project can be found here:

http://www.nwdivenews.com/back_issues_g ... 8xNi5qcGc=

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:10 pm

The aquarium's tagging efforts have been on hold for the past ~9 months. Their cage got removed/destroyed by various pile driving activities to reinforce the pier for the new exhibit (all the piles were replaced I think) no more creosote.

They may have things up and going again during the summer. Until then, there's no chumsicles out there changing the Elliott Bay shark bahavior patterns.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:20 am

CaptnJack wrote:The aquarium's tagging efforts have been on hold for the past ~9 months. Their cage got removed/destroyed by various pile driving activities to reinforce the pier for the new exhibit (all the piles were replaced I think) no more creosote.

They may have things up and going again during the summer. Until then, there's no chumsicles out there changing the Elliott Bay shark bahavior patterns.

As I understand it, though, they still want divers to report the sighting of sharks, especially the tagged ones.

Cwest · Post by **Cwest** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:15 am

How many sixgills do you guys see in a typical year of diving?
Before last summer I never looked,I never saw one either.Last summer I did 10 dives just where sharks had been seen before and was rewarded with three sightings. Jeff told me I reported the most sightings last summer.This makes me think people aren't reporting sightings.
He also said that the reports are pretty important for his population study.I hope everone that sees a sixgill fills out the form it only takes a minute.Points of intrest if I remember correctly were tags, location, approx. time, # of sharks, sex if possible,and depth.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:10 am

John Rawlings wrote:
CaptnJack wrote:The aquarium's tagging efforts have been on hold for the past ~9 months. Their cage got removed/destroyed by various pile driving activities to reinforce the pier for the new exhibit (all the piles were replaced I think) no more creosote.

They may have things up and going again during the summer. Until then, there's no chumsicles out there changing the Elliott Bay shark bahavior patterns.
As I understand it, though, they still want divers to report the sighting of sharks, especially the tagged ones.

I did report the one we saw, but they never got in touch with me- I recieved an e-mail saying that my e-mail had been forwarded to the 6-gill folks, but nothing after that.

Cwest · Post by **Cwest** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:34 am

I did report the one we saw, but they never got in touch with me- I recieved an e-mail saying that my e-mail had been forwarded to the 6-gill folks, but nothing after that.

I had some video that they wanted to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8LNAyddnuo

GillyWeed · Post by **GillyWeed** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:30 am

This makes me really sad.. Especially the babies. I suppose its possible that she might have had problems birthing? I am assuming by the babies inside that six gills give live births. Does anyone know if they are single births or mulitiple? Like in some shark species where the babies canniblize each other in the womb.. She had several babies in there from the pictures.. Really really sad..

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:58 am

GillyWeed wrote:This makes me really sad.. Especially the babies. I suppose its possible that she might have had problems birthing? I am assuming by the babies inside that six gills give live births. Does anyone know if they are single births or mulitiple? Like in some shark species where the babies canniblize each other in the womb.. She had several babies in there from the pictures.. Really really sad..

Yes, Sixgill sharks are oviviparous - the babies develop in the womb and are born swimming.

Amongst shark species only the Blue Shark is capable of producing larger litters of pups than the Sixgill. I found a reference to a female Sixgill that had 108 embryos in her uterus! Does anyone know how many embryos were found within this dead shark when she was opened up by WDFW?

The photos appear to show that the babies might have been pretty well developed....I wonder if some were born prior to the death of the mother?

I've found no reference to the babies cannibalizing each other within the womb, as occurs in some other shark species.

- John

WylerBear · Post by **WylerBear** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:39 am

"Does anyone know how many embryos were found within this dead shark when she was opened up by WDFW?"

Didn't I see somewhere in one of the articles or posts about the number of pups being around 80?

boydski · Post by **boydski** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:01 am

John Rawlings wrote: Does anyone know how many embryos were found within this dead shark when she was opened up by WDFW?

The photos appear to show that the babies might have been pretty well developed....I wonder if some were born prior to the death of the mother?

I've found no reference to the babies cannibalizing each other within the womb, as occurs in some other shark species.

- John

Hi John,

I've heard a couple of numbers mentioned, but they found something like 75 babies inside the shark and there were a couple found near her body that were most likely still born.

Very sad indeed.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:07 am

Thanks, Georgia and Scott!

Wow! That's a big loss. My curiosity is piqued! I hope that if WDFW is able to determine the cause of death they will share the information with the public.

Wouldn't it be something to be underwater when a Sixgill is giving birth and be able to watch it?

- John

WylerBear · Post by **WylerBear** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:45 am

Having been around humans when giving birth and seeing how usually very pleasant, mild-mannered women become SHE-DEVILS, I'm not sure I'd want to be close to a shark giving birth.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:32 am

WylerBear wrote:Having been around humans when giving birth and seeing how usually very pleasant, mild-mannered women become SHE-DEVILS, I'm not sure I'd want to be close to a shark giving birth.

Hee Hee Hee.....an EXCELLENT point!

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:20 pm

John Rawlings wrote:
WylerBear wrote:Having been around humans when giving birth and seeing how usually very pleasant, mild-mannered women become SHE-DEVILS, I'm not sure I'd want to be close to a shark giving birth.
Hee Hee Hee.....an EXCELLENT point!

Not to mention the fact that it's a beautiful experience, and not necessarily a beautiful sight.