Fishermen in Albania have caught a blue shark with an 18 cm long swordfish bill embedded in its skull, marking the first known case of a shark surviving such an injury.
The blue shark had been pierced by the swordfish’s bill through its skull but managed to survive the incident. When caught by a group of fishermen in Vlorë, southern Albania, it showed no visible flesh wounds from the puncture and had bait in its stomach, indicating it was feeding normally. Subsequent examinations revealed that an 18.6 cm long swordfish bill was lodged in its skull, as reported by New Scientist on October 1.
Swordfish with an extremely long and sharp bill. (Photo: BGR).
“When I realized there was a swordfish bill in the shark’s head, I was astonished,” said Andrej Gajić, an expert at the Sharklab ADRIA research center in Vlorë. Gajić has conducted tens of thousands of shark examinations but had never encountered a case like this before, nor had he seen anything similar in other studies. His research team specializes in reviving and releasing accidentally caught sharks, but this one had died before reaching the port.
There have been eight documented cases of blue sharks (Prionace glauca) being impaled by swordfish (Xiphias gladius), with the attacking bill located inside or near the shark’s head. A bigeye thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus) and a shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) have also been found with swordfish bills embedded in them.
This is the first case confirmed by researchers of a shark surviving such an accident. When attacking prey, the young swordfish may instinctively react by raising its head, breaking its bill without causing harm to any critical structures of the shark.
The mature shark measured 275 cm in length and weighed 44 kg. Swordfish can grow up to 455 cm and weigh as much as 650 kg. There have been reports of blue sharks preying on swordfish. Both species employ aggressive hunting tactics to feed on large schools of fish or squid. Such impaling actions might occur when a swordfish attempts to defend itself against a blue shark’s attack, or it could be an accidental occurrence when both predator species target the same prey. According to Gajić, researchers need to observe more cases to determine the reasons behind such incidents.
