A megamouth shark in the South Atlantic is officially on the record. On August 22, 2026, an adult male megamouth shark washed ashore at St. Helena Bay on South Africa's West Coast — only the second megamouth ever recorded in South African waters, and the first confirmed record of this species from the Southeastern Atlantic specifically. Host Andrew Lewin shares the full breakdown video created by Dr. David Ebert, the "Lost Shark Guy" and Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, who walks through exactly how rare this find really is.
Megamouth sharks (Megachasma pelagios) weren't even known to science until November 15, 1976, when a US Navy research vessel accidentally hauled one up in its sea anchor off Oahu, Hawaii. In the roughly 50 years since, researchers have logged over 300 records worldwide, with recognized hotspots off Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Southern California, Northern Baja California, and Northern Peru — but until this new stranding, the Southeast Atlantic had never produced a single confirmed sighting. The only previous South African record was a 2002 specimen that washed up at Nature's Valley in the Western Cape.
Andrew breaks down why this single data point matters: it's evidence that megamouth sharks, like great white sharks and tiger sharks tracked crossing entire ocean basins, may have a far more global range than our current maps show — and that those maps are only ever as good as where humans have actually been looking. Catch Ocean Decoded Live for daily breakdowns of ocean news like this. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode, and follow Dr. David Ebert's ongoing shark-identification work at Lost Shark Guy on YouTube and @lostsharkguy on Instagram.
Chapters:
0:00 Cold Open and Breaking Megamouth Shark News
1:12 History The 1976 Discovery of the Megamouth Shark
4:00 Breaking New Specimen Found at St Helena Bay August 22 2026
4:45 Andrew's Reaction Why This Sighting Matters for Shark Range Maps
9:06 The Census of Marine Life and Tracking Ocean Giants
Takeaways:
On August 22, 2026, an adult male megamouth shark washed ashore at St. Helena Bay, South Africa the second-ever megamouth recorded in South African waters, and the first confirmed record from the Southeastern Atlantic.
Megamouth sharks weren't discovered by science until November 15, 1976, when a US Navy research vessel accidentally caught one off Oahu, Hawaii, in a sea anchor.
The species was formally named Megachasma pelagios in 1983; over 300 records have been logged worldwide since, concentrated around hotspots like Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the West Coast of the Americas.
The only prior South African record was a 2002 specimen at Nature's Valley — meaning the Southeast Atlantic had zero confirmed megamouth records for roughly 24 years before this one.
A single new sighting like this can meaningfully expand a species' known range, echoing how wide-ranging sharks like great whites and tiger sharks have been tracked crossing entire ocean basins.
Dr. David Ebert ("Lost Shark Guy") is a go-to identifier for shark sightings sent in by fishermen and scientists worldwide, and is Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.
#OceanConservation #MarineBiology #SaveOurOceans #ProtectTheOcean #OceanAwareness #BluePlanet #ConservationMatters #ScienceForChange #SustainableOceans
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