Well Ain’t That Just Swell

NEWPORT BEACH— Davey’s Locker Sportfishing in Newport had a cool find last month when they pulled up a swell shark while out on a nighttime fishing trip. “This little guy is called a ‘swell shark’,” said a June 16 Facebook post from Davey’s Locker Sportfishing. “If threatened, the shark has an unusual response… it can actually bend its body into a ‘U’ shape, grab its own tail in its mouth, and it can swallow a large quantity of sea water, which makes it swell to twice its normal size. This behavior makes it difficult for a predator to bite or pull out a swell shark from its rocky crevice.” The sharks can reach up to three feet and are found throughout California along the coast of Chile. They are identified by their brown blotches and white spots, which are scattered across their yellow-brown body. The sharks spend their days hiding out in rocky crevices and come out at night to hunt for fish and crustaceans.

Davey’s Locker Sportfishing Facebook Post