The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) placed an underwater camera in the bay and captured an incredible sight—a very rare angel shark. Angel sharks (Squatina squatina) are listed as “critically endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN says that historically, these sharks’ range extended from Scandinavia to northwestern Africa, but today, the animals have vanished from much of this range. Marine conservationists call the sighting “a rare and exciting encounter.”
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“Our underwater cameras in Cardigan Bay give an incredible insight into our seabeds in West Wales,” wrote CBMWC in a Facebook post sharing the footage. “They recently captured an Angelshark—one of world’s rarest and most threatened shark species!”
[RELATED: WATCH: Rare Footage of ‘Cryptic’ Deep-Sea Sixgill Shark]
Angel shark populations have declined thanks to habitat degradation and destructive fishing practices. These bottom dwellers are particularly susceptible to trawl-net fishing, which not only wrecks the seabed but also also entangles the sharks accidentally. The animals also have a low reproduction rate. The combination of these two realities puts them at risk of extinction.
See the rare shark on an underwater camera here:
Header stock image of an angel shark by our wonderful world/Getty Images
