Which is considered to be the largest fish in the Arctic?

Often referred to as the ‘gurry shark’, the Greenland Shark is a large species of shark, that is a member of the ‘sleeper shark family’ It is closely related to the Southern and Pacific sleeper sharks and is commonly found in the cold, deep waters of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Greenland sharks are considered to be the largest fish in the Arctic Ocean and the only shark species that can tolerate the cold Arctic throughout the year.

The Greenland shark is one of the world’s largest living predatory shark species, which when fully grown reaches a length of 6.4m (21 ft) and weighs about 1,000kg (2,204 pounds). A typical Greenland shark is about 2.44 (8 ft) to 4.8m (16 ft) long and weighs around 400kg (881 pounds). These sharks possess smaller eyes, a short, blunt snout, and quite small pectoral and dorsal fins compared to their large body size. The body coloration of these sharks varies from pale creamy-gray to blackish-brown in color. The female sharks are comparatively larger than the male sharks and these sharks are ‘ovoviviparous’ producing an average of about 10 offspring at a time.

They are quite infrequently observed on the ocean surface. They are found in the freezing waters and during the summer months, the Greenland sharks migrate to extremely deeper parts of the ocean and during winters, these sharks move much closer to the water surface.