Fish
Gulper Shark
Centrophorus granulosus · also called gulper sharks
Prized for decades for the oil packed into its unusually large liver, a gulper shark has struggled to recover from historical overfishing, its slow reproductive rate no match for the pace at which deep-sea fisheries once targeted it.
Overview
The gulper shark, Centrophorus granulosus, is a slow-reproducing carnivore native to deep ocean habitat along continental slopes in temperate and tropical waters worldwide. Its historically valuable, squalene-rich liver, large low-light-adapted eyes, and prolonged struggle to recover from overfishing make it one of the more conservation-significant deep-sea sharks found anywhere in the world.
A slow life meets a fast fishery
The gulper shark’s biology, built for a slow, steady existence in the deep sea, was poorly matched to the intensity of the liver-oil fisheries that once targeted it, a mismatch whose consequences are still being felt in the species’ slow recovery today.
Status
Vulnerable, with populations still struggling to recover from decades of targeted fishing for liver oil.
Gulper Shark: common questions
Why was the gulper shark historically fished so heavily?
This species has an unusually large, oil-rich liver containing high concentrations of squalene, a compound historically extracted commercially for use in cosmetics and industrial products, making it a major target of deep-sea fisheries throughout the twentieth century.
Why has the gulper shark struggled to recover from overfishing?
This species reproduces very slowly, with long gestation periods and few offspring per litter, meaning that even after fishing pressure eased, population recovery has remained slow.
Why does the gulper shark have such large eyes?
This species has unusually large eyes relative to its body, an adaptation that helps it gather what little light is available at the depths it typically inhabits along continental slopes.
Is the gulper shark still fished commercially today?
While direct targeting for liver oil has declined, this species is still affected by deep-sea trawling operations that capture it incidentally, continuing to hinder its slow population recovery.