||| FROM KING-TV SEATTLE |||
Researchers from Oregon State University recently made the first scientific confirmation of two “distinct shark species” in Puget Sound, one of which is critically endangered.
OSU researchers claim the presence of the broadnose sevengill and the endangered soupfin shark in the Puget Sound region may indicate changes in what biologists describe as an “economically, culturally, and ecologically valuable inland waterway.”
The Salish Sea separates northwest Washington from British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. The 6,500-square-mile body of water stretches into Washington as Puget Sound and the sharks were caught near Olympia, close to the sound’s most southern point, according to OSU.
OSU researchers, along with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, confirmed the broadnose sevengill can grow up to 10 feet and is now inhabiting the heavily urbanized south Puget Sound area.
Broadnose sevengill sharks eat a variety of prey that includes fish, crustaceans, and marine mammals, according to OSU researchers. They also live in temperate waters worldwide, and off the west coast of North America, and range from southern Alaska to Baja California, Mexico.
Before 2021, only one sevengill shark had ever been confirmed in the Salish Sea at Point Roberts near the Canadian border. In August 2021, there were anecdotal reports that indicated several of them had been caught in south Puget Sound.
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