'Absolutely amazing': Massive sixgill shark spotted on B.C. Gulf Island

The bluntnose sixgill shark body is shown on Hornby Island, B.C. (Ian Welsh)

A Vancouver Island man says he was stunned to find the body of a large bluntnose sixgill shark on a beach on Hornby Island.

Ian Welsh says he found the shark, which he estimates to be between three metres (10 feet) and 4.5 metres (15 feet) on May 2.

He says at first he thought the shark was a large piece of wood.

"From a distance it looked like a log perpendicular to the water," he said Tuesday.

"It was quite long and quite close to the water."

Once he got close to the shark body, he said he was amazed by the size.

"I was just in awe," he said. "I didn't realize there were 14 different kinds of sharks in these waters."

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, there are 14 different kinds of sharks that call B.C. home, though many don't venture close to the coast.

The sharks can range from the shorter brown cat shark to the iconic great white shark.

DFO shark scientist Dr. Jackie King, Pacific shark research lead and program head for basin and coastal-scale interactions, says a sixgill shark of this size is considered quite large.

The largest sixgill on record measured about 4.9 metres, or 16 feet.

(Ian Welsh)Sixgill sharks are quite common in B.C., though they are typically found in depths of up to 1.5 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island, according to King.

The Strait of Georgia, near where the body was found, is typically home to juvenile sixgill sharks, but even then they tend to stay at deeper depths.

Generally, pregnant sixgill sharks migrate to the Salish Sea to give birth, and juveniles will stay in the area for several years before heading for deeper waters, King says.

Welsh, a retired architect, lives at a waterfront home in East Sooke and says he's no stranger to marine life.

He's seen whales swim past his home and hunt seals, but this is the first time he's ever seen a sixgill shark.

"It was absolutely amazing to see something like that, and I don't know if I'll ever see anything like that again," he said.

"Hopefully not washed up on the water like that," he added. "I'd rather see them in the ocean."

(Ian Welsh)The DFO encourages anyone who spots a shark to report the sighting to the DFO Shark Sightings Network website.