Aaron Judah Reports 2 Live Goblin Shark Sightings in Nature — Alan Jamieson Goblin Shark Study
A University of Hawai'i at Mānoa-led alan jamieson goblin shark study published the first live observations of goblin sharks in their natural deep-ocean habitat. The paper documents two sightings in the central Pacific, including one near Jarvis Island and one on the slope of the Tonga Trench.
The study appeared in Journal of Fish Biology and said the Tonga Trench shark was seen nearly 700 meters deeper than the species was known to live. Lead author Aaron Judah said, "Seeing the most iconic of all the deep-sea sharks alive and looking healthy in its natural habitat is a unique honor," and added, "I was also very surprised about how deep this species was found."
Journal of Fish Biology
Judah, a doctoral candidate, said, "The observation from the slope of the Tonga Trench is nearly 700 meters deeper than this species was known to live." The new findings also significantly extend the goblin shark's geographic range, with both sightings coming from the central Pacific.
Goblin sharks are the only living representative of their family and belong to a lineage nearly 125 million years old. Before this study, the species had been filmed alive only after being hooked on fishing lines and hauled to the surface.
Jarvis Island And Tonga Trench
One observation came from a seamount near Jarvis Island. Judah said, "I was shocked to hear this because this species was not known to be in the Central Pacific."
The second came during a 2024 expedition to the Tonga Trench aboard the R/V Dagon, part of the Inkfish Open Ocean Expedition. Scientists from the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center led that expedition, and a baited camera on a bottom lander captured the footage.
2019 Footage Review
The study also drew on a 2019 Ocean Exploration Trust expedition aboard the E/V Nautilus near Jarvis Island, where a potential goblin shark sighting was recorded. That footage was captured using a camera system on the remotely operated vehicle Hercules, publicly archived, and later annotated by colleagues at DARC at UH Mānoa.
Judah reviewed the archived footage with colleagues at DARC in 2025 and identified a goblin shark in the 2019 dive. The paper turns two scattered encounters into published evidence that the species reaches deeper and farther across the central Pacific than its earlier record showed.
