The Atlantic Shark Institute posted footage of a sighting of the unique and rare porbeagle shark off Block Island in Rhode Island on Sunday, June 5th. The footage, posted to the Atlantic Shark Institute’s Facebook, shows the shark devouring a cod fish that three fishermen were actively reeling in.
“Valerie Preler, Chris Littlefield and Chris Blansfield were fishing for cod off Block Island, RI in May when the cod they were fighting got about 100 times heavier. They soon realized they were also fighting a porbeagle shark!”
The porbeagle is one of the many species the Atlantic Shark Institute is currently researching, and they point out that the decreasing population means research is even more necessary. Porbeagles are listed as threatened species, but the Mediterranean and Northeast Atlantic subpopulations are both considered critically endangered, while the Northwest Atlantic is considered endangered, according to MarineBio.org.
Image Credit: The Atlantic Shark Institute on Facebook