The Greenlandic shark that washed up on the Sligo coast is “poisonous” and likely around 150 years old, a biologist has said.
On Saturday, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group received a report of stranding of a basking shark that had washed up on the Sligo coast.
Once the team arrived however, they realised it was not a basking shark but something no one in Ireland has seen in recorded memory.
The roughly two metre long dead animal was in fact a Greenlandic shark, which is more typically found in the freezing waters of the Arctic.
On Newstalk Breakfast, biologist Éanna Ní Lamhna described it as an “amazing story”.
“This is the first time ever that a Greenland shark washed up on Irish waters, ever,” she explained.
“This particular shark lives in the deep, dark waters, much further north around Greenland, around Iceland.
“This has never been recorded on Irish coasts before.”
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Greenlandic sharks are the longest lived creature on the planet and some survive for half a century.
It means there are currently Greenlandic sharks swimming around that were alive during the time of Shakespeare, the American Revolutionary War, the Great Famine and the Easter Rising.
However, the shark washed up on the Sligo coast is thought to have been young by the standards of his species.
“He was just getting sexually mature,” Ms Ní Lamhna said.
“So, he was a mere 150 years old because they don't become sexually mature until they're 150 years old.
“And when your woman gets pregnant, she is eight to 18 years in gestation before she gives birth to the baby.”
An Icelandic delicacy
In Iceland, Greenlandic sharks are eaten at a special feast to celebrate the end of winter.
However, it is not something that is likely to be seen on restaurant menus in Ireland - even if more Greenlandic sharks make it to Irish waters.
“This shark is poisonous, it has terribly high levels of urea and trimethylamine oxides and you couldn't eat it,” Ms Ní Lamhna warned.
“So, they have to bury it for nine weeks until it ferments and then they smoke it and dry it.
“Then they serve it as a special feast at the end of winter.”
Ms Ní Lamhna said she once ate it on a visit to Iceland and had “never tasted anything so vile in all my born days”.
“It was just dreadful,” she said.
“And they give you a special drink to wash it down called Black Death, which is like poitín on stilts.
“So, you can imagine it was a subsistence food in the old days.”
Main image: Greenlandic Shark. Picture by: Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
