Captain Catches Rare Goblin Shark Off Key West
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A boat captain got a startling surprise when he caught a rare shark off the coast of Key West last month.
Captain Carl Moore had caught a rare goblin shark while trying to catch shrimp.
"I told my crew when he jumped out, I said, 'Man that's an ugly thing. Don't he look prehistoric?'" he said. "Them teeth, that's the first thing I seen on him, those wicked looking teeth in his mouth. I told them, 'You won't get around that thing, he'll slice you to death.'"
Moore later released the shark back into the ocean.
An official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told our news partners the Miami Herald, the catch of the 18-foot-long fish is an "important scientific discovery."
It's the second goblin shark, on record, ever spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the paper.
The NOAA official told the paper last one spotted was back in 2000.
Goblin sharks live in very deep water but not a lot is known about them.
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