Grise Fiord (Sep 27/04) - The weather was nice while nine-year-old Michael Muckpa was riding his bike around Grise Fiord during his lunch break on Thursday Sept. 16.

But as he rode around to the shore at the side of the gym, Muckpa saw something unexpected. Staring up from the beach was a two-metre-long Greenland shark. Though they are commonly found swimming in Arctic waters, residents rarely come across one face to face, especially on land.

Having never seen a shark before, Muckpa was scared. The animal was moving "just a little. It was dying," the Grade 5 Ummimmak School student said. Both of its eyes had popped out of its head.

According to the book Atlantic Fishes of Canada, Greenland sharks are one of the few sharks which swim in Arctic waters year round. They generally eat fish but also consume other marine animals.

During the summer they tend to swim in deeper waters, making Muckpa's find even more unusual.

One of the largest Arctic fish, adults usually grow to between two and four metres.

So while the fish was relatively small compared to other Greenland sharks, it was still an exciting find for Muckpa and he wasted little time in going home to tell his father about what he'd found. Soon enough, many people gathered to have a look at the animal, which Muckpa says died about 30 minutes after he found it.

Jimmie Qaapik, the community's economic development officer, said about three Greenland sharks are sighted around the community each year.

"When there's been a lot of whale hunts and butchering is done, then we start seeing a lot of sharks coming around" because of the blood in the water, Qaapik said.

He thinks the shark's eyes may have been popped out after it quickly went from deep to shallow water, probably chasing Oogait or Arctic cod.

Harp seals coming around

Though there have been no whales killed near the community this year, in late August, Harp seals began coming around Grise Fiord.

Almost every year the up to six-feet-long and sometimes 300-pound seals work in groups to gather the cod into a large group by swimming in and around them.

"Mostly they drive the cod to the shallow area," Qaapik says.

Cod began showing up on the beach Sept. 9. Qaapik estimates the cod were visible on the beach for four or five days; at least two days before Muckpa encountered the shark.

Only one Greenland shark has been washed ashore during the last few years, he said.