6 Gill Shark at Norrander's Reef (Rockaway)?

[60south]

Me and a buddy think we saw a small (3+ft) 6 gill at Rockaway the other day. The encounter was brief, and I didn't have a chance to actually count the gills [smile] so I remain skeptical -- but he's adamant that that's what it was. Anybody else seen one there?

glenn

PS - Oh, some additional info which probably won't help... Depth was around 50ft, the critter was near the bottom and patrolling fast, checked us out twice then split. Time was 6pm. Phase of the moon was 1/4, weather fair, and I had fish tacos for lunch.

[Joshua Smith]

I don't want to burst your bubble too hard, but that sounds kind of like a dogfish to me.....

[60south]

Well I too thought it might be a dogfish too. But my buddy's seen a lot of them and he says it wasn't. And I didn't see any spots... So I'm open to the idea. If someone else has seen a six gill there lately then it would confirm the sighting.

........Must.... remember.... camera.... next.... time..........

[Penopolypants]

Well I too thought it might be a dogfish too. But my buddy's seen a lot of them and he says it wasn't. And I didn't see any spots... So I'm open to the idea. If someone else has seen a six gill there lately then it would confirm the sighting.

........Must.... remember.... camera.... next.... time..........

All the cool stuff swims by when you don't have it. :( I'm convinced I'm gonna have to stop carrying mine if I ever want to see a six gill.

[Grateful Diver]

The "patrolling fast" tends to make me think it was a dogfish ... dogfish tend to swim fast, and all the six-gills I've ever seen were swimming slow ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Joshua Smith]

The "patrolling fast" tends to make me think it was a dogfish ... dogfish tend to swim fast, and all the six-gills I've ever seen were swimming slow ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Yeah- that, plus the smallest 6 gill I've ever heard a report of was probably 5-6 feet long- not sure where the pups live until they get that big, but it seems like they're particularly shy.

[CaptnJack]

Dogfish don't always have spots. The ones in the Dome at the Aquarium "tan" after a few months and are uniformly gray/brown.

"Fast" is the most telling statement on why it probably wasn't a 6 gill.

[spatman]

did it look kinda like this guy?

[60south]

Sorta. But it had a blunter nose, no spots or coloration.

[CaptnJack]

Where was the dorsal fin relative to the head?

6 gills have only one dorsal fin and its set quite far back towards the tail.
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/expl0449.htm

As shown, Dogfish have 2 and the prominent one is set in the middle of the fish.

[coachrenz]

I saw a 6 gill pup at redondo on a safety stop on a night dive that was about 3 to 4 feet long several months ago.

I think LJ James has reported seeing pups quite often at Cove 2 on the line runs.

[60south]

Where was the dorsal fin relative to the head?

That I don't know, I didn't notice. My buddy claims it was far back, which is partially why he thinks it was a young 6 gill.

I started out skeptical, but the more I look at that picture the more I think it wasn't a dogfish. It wasn't that streamlined, it had more of a stocky look to it.

Might jus' have to go back there and look for it again...

[Joshua Smith]

Where was the dorsal fin relative to the head?

That I don't know, I didn't notice. My buddy claims it was far back, which is partially why he thinks it was a young 6 gill.

I started out skeptical, but the more I look at that picture the more I think it wasn't a dogfish. It wasn't that streamlined, it had more of a stocky look to it.

Might jus' have to go back there and look for it again...

Hey, maybe it was a 6 gill- I wasn't there, so I don't know nothin'. 6 gillers usually don't move fast, but they can really haul ass when they want to- I think the weird dorsal fin placement on the 6 gill would be the thing to look for next time- they're waaaaay back towards the tail, compared to dogfish, or any other shark I know about.

[Pez7378]

If I was a sixgill, and I was only 4-5 feet in length, and I saw two 5-6 foot long bubbling creatures with crunchy parts that make me fart, I'd probably move a little quicker than if I was a sixgill that was 8-12 feet in length. Perhaps the Pups move a little quicker?

[Biodiversity_Guy]

I did see a dogfish there last month when I dove it with Wes. A quick look us over and he was gone again.

[Sounder]

I've seen a young sixgill at 3TN, late in the afternoon (weird), in about 55fsw swimming along relatively quickly... not huge-shark lumbering slow, and definitely not dogfish fast. It didn't stop to check us out, but the dorsal fin was a DEFINITE ID point (as was the 6 gill slits). Quite small too - maybe 3-4' long? So... possible? Sure! Probable... Maybe.

It *could* have been a 6er, but I too would do a triple-check before I was sure it wasn't a dogfish. The "checked out twice" thing combined with the speed leads me to believe it was a dogfish too.

Whatever, you saw a shark... and THAT rocks!!

[nwscubamom]

Pretty much every time I've dove that site, I've had a dogfish come in to check me out, then zip away. I'd bet dollars to donuts what you saw was a Spiny Dogfish Shark, not a Sixgill.

How can I be so confident of this? Because you clearly stated you had fish tacos for lunch. That alone clinches it

- Janna

[Maverick]

Janna your avatar is an awesome shot, sweet angle

[Chevayea]

I have had several dives out there where i have seen dogfish. Ususally doing the same thing you described. a few quick zips by us then disappeared.

[airsix]

Even if it was a dogfish and not a six-gill, dogfish are still awesome!

-Ben

[nwscubamom]

Even if it was a dogfish and not a six-gill, dogfish are still awesome!

-Ben

Amen to that!!! Dogfish are VERY cool to sight. And I have to settle for that anyway, because I'm STILL president of the Never-Seen-a-Sixgill Club.

- Janna