Hexanchus griseus
Heavy, deep-water shark with six pairs of gill slits and a single dorsal fin. It is not a threatened species in Brazil, but it is slow, lives a long time and should only be caught to be released.
Also called: tubarão-de-seis-guelras, tubarão-albafar
The sixgill shark (cañabota) lives in all oceans, with irregular distribution. It stays near the bottom, usually between 180 and 1,100 m, on the slope and outer shelf, around oceanic islands and seamounts; at night it rises to feed near the surface, where it can be caught on longlines set for other species. It eats fish, other sharks, rays, chimaeras, squid, crabs, shrimp, carrion and even seals, and large individuals (from about 2 m) also attack cetaceans. It is viviparous, with huge litters of 47 to 108 pups of 60 to 75 cm, and juveniles use shallow waters as a nursery. In the southwestern Atlantic there are records from northeastern to southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and the known distribution is irregular. It is not on the Brazilian national list, and the IUCN global assessment is Near Threatened. In sport bottom fishing it is a release fish.
Heavy body, broad head and rounded snout. It has six pairs of long gill slits (common sharks have five) and a single dorsal fin, set far back; the anal fin is smaller than the dorsal. Mouth underneath, with six rows of blade-shaped and comb-shaped teeth on each side of the lower jaw. Brown or grey above, paler below, with a pale band along the flank and white edges on the fins. Alive, its eyes glow fluorescent green. The cação-bruxa (gatopardo, Notorynchus cepedianus) has seven pairs of gill slits and dark spots on its body.
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Circumglobal, with irregular distribution. In the southwestern Atlantic there are records from northeastern to southern Brazil (Fernando de Noronha archipelago, São Pedro e São Paulo archipelago, Ceará and other points on the slope), Argentina and Uruguay. In practice, deep bottom fishing and longlines are what catch it.
Habitat: Slope and outer shelf, oceanic islands and seamounts, usually 180 to 1,100 m; at night it rises near the surface; juveniles use shallow waters.
coast
Estimate: no known season; it lives in cold, deep water, where seasons change little, and can be found year-round.
Nighttime. By day it stays near the bottom and at night it rises to feed near the surface, according to FishBase. For deep bottom anglers, night is the best time for a chance.
Lives in cold water (well below 15 °C on the bottom); surface temperature matters little.
Little known effect on the bottom.
No study; the effect is estimated to be small.
Little effect on the bottom; heavy rain only hampers the boat's maneuvering.
Not applicable at sea.
Not very sensitive; lives far from surface noise.
Rough seas hamper deep bottom fishing from a boat, which requires the boat to hold position over the spot.
Strong current drags the line and makes it hard to get the bait down to the bottom.
180 to 1,100 m most of the time; at night it may rise near the surface.
natural baits
accessories
Deep bottom fishing: for release only. Bring the shark alongside the hull with its head in the water, without taking it aboard, and cut the line flush with the hook if the hook is deep. Keep your hands away from the mouth.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Not on the Brazilian national list (Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026). Global assessment: Near Threatened (IUCN, 21/11/2019). The finning ban applies.
In Brazil, finning is prohibited (cutting off the fins and discarding the body). Every shark or ray landed must arrive with its fins attached to the body; it is prohibited to carry on board an animal without fins or with loose fins, and to transfer sharks between vessels. It applies to any shark that may be kept.
In recreational sport fishing in Mexican saltwaters, the limit for sharks is one specimen per angler per day, which counts as five toward the total limit of ten fish. Fish caught in sport fishing may not be sold. Catch and release does not count toward the limit: prefer releasing.
In 2021 Colombia stopped treating marine sharks and rays as fishery resources (AUNAP Resolution 0380/2021) and began treating them as hydrobiological resources; the recitals of Decree 281/2021 say they may not be extracted for commercial or sport purposes, and the decree creates an environmental protection plan and sets who enforces it. The articles include no list of species or sizes, and we did not check later AUNAP rules on incidental catch. When in doubt, release it in the water.
Law 20.525 (2011) added art. 5 bis to the General Law on Fisheries and Aquaculture: it is forbidden to cut the fins of any shark on board fishing vessels or during transshipment, and landing must be done with the fins fully or partially attached to the body. A loose fin without the corresponding trunk on board is presumed to be an offense. The fine for the vessel owner ranges from 50 to 500 UTM. We did not verify a specific Chilean rule on shark retention in marine recreational fishing.
Federal Fisheries Council Resolution 8/2021 (Consejo Federal Pesquero) bans directed fishing for chondrichthyans (sharks, rays and chimaeras), finning (cutting off the fins and discarding the body) and the use of gaffs to return live animals to the sea, and requires that sharks caught by chance be returned quickly and with minimal trauma, except cazón, gatuzo, pez ángel, espinoso and pintarroja. The text refers to trips and vessels, that is, the federal commercial fleet, and invites the provinces to adopt similar measures. For sport anglers, good practice is to release the shark in the water, without a gaff.
Law 9 of 2006 bans finning in Panama's jurisdictional waters. The law's definition of shark fishing covers directed or incidental catch by artisanal, commercial, industrial and sport vessels. The fine for artisanal fishing reaches 1,000 balboas, without prejudice to criminal liability. In the sources we checked, we did not find a specific Panamanian rule on retention or release for sport anglers.
Do not lift it out of the water: the weight of the body injures the organs. Keep the fight short and release it beside the boat, with the shark in the water; cut the line flush with the mouth if the hook is deep. Lifting it from hundreds of metres exhausts the animal: do not hold it against the hull, release it quickly so it can return to the bottom.
FishBase records commercial use of the species. As it is a large and probably long-lived shark, it is not a fish to be killed: release it.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00081, b = 3.23; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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The season factors (months), the time of day, and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water, and noise) are editorial estimates by the app, based on the literature cited below and on field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data or measurements made for this species and may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the standard and link. The months indicate when the species is usually found near the coast or at the fishing spot, not a catch season. The water temperature range is also an editorial estimate, supported by FishBase values where they exist.
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