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The shark is the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), and “300 years old” is an approximate headline, not the precisely measured age of one identified animal. A 2016 study estimated its largest sampled female at 392 ± 120 years; the study’s reported probability range began at 272 years. NOAA therefore describes the largest sampled shark as estimated to be between 272 and 512 years old.
That combination of extraordinary longevity, growth of less than 1 cm per year, and reproduction only after more than a century makes the Greenland shark exceptional—and unusually vulnerable when fishing gear catches it accidentally.
How old can a Greenland shark get?
The strongest published estimate comes from Nielsen and coauthors’ 2016 study, which examined eye-lens tissue from 28 female Greenland sharks measuring 81 to 502 cm long. Radiocarbon dating indicated a lifespan of at least 272 years. The largest shark in that sample, a 502 cm female, was estimated at 392 ± 120 years.
Those figures are estimates, not an exact birth date. The Canadian 2025 COSEWIC assessment says Greenland shark age estimates remain highly uncertain and that the single aging study has not yet been validated.
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| Figure | What it means | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| At least 272 years | Lower end of the primary study’s reported age range | Nielsen et al., 2016; based on radiocarbon analysis of 28 females |
| 392 ± 120 years | Estimate for the largest sampled shark, a 502 cm female | Nielsen et al., 2016; uncertainty must remain attached to the estimate |
| 272–512 years | NOAA’s public description of the largest sampled shark’s estimated age | NOAA Ocean Service, accessed 2026 |
| 156 ± 22 years | Estimated age at sexual maturity in the 2016 study | Nielsen et al., 2016; an estimate, not a direct observation of every shark |
The authors of the primary study called the Greenland shark “the longest-lived vertebrate known,” while also warning that the finding raises conservation concerns. Read the study abstract via PubMed.
How scientists estimated the shark’s age
Why normal shark aging methods do not work well
Many sharks can be aged by counting growth bands in vertebrae or fin spines. Greenland sharks lack fin spines, and their vertebrae are too soft to preserve the bands needed for that conventional approach.
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Radiocarbon in the eye lens
Researchers instead analyzed radiocarbon in the nuclei of eye-lens cells. Eye-lens proteins form before birth and do not degrade with age, so the chemical signature preserved there can be dated. NOAA explains the method in “Determining Shark Ages With Eye Lenses.”
The technique uses the atmospheric “bomb radiocarbon” signal created when nuclear-weapons testing sharply increased carbon-14 during the mid-20th century. That time marker helps scientists estimate when tissue formed, but it is not a perfect clock. Deep-ocean carbon-14 dynamics before and after the testing era add uncertainty, and age determination remains difficult for sharks.
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What makes Greenland sharks biologically unusual?
Exceptionally slow growth
NOAA says Greenland sharks grow less than 1 cm per year and can exceed 6 meters. At that rate, reaching adult size takes many decades or centuries rather than a typical human lifetime.
Late maturity
The 2016 study estimated sexual maturity at 156 ± 22 years. COSEWIC’s 2025 assessment gives different maturity measures based on body size: approximately 284 ± 6 cm for males and 419 ± 4 cm for females. These are assessment estimates, and they should not be treated as a settled age for every population.
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Life in Arctic deep water
Greenland sharks are deep-water animals that can tolerate Arctic waters year-round. Cold conditions and a slow metabolism are often discussed as possible contributors to their longevity, but NOAA presents that relationship as a theory rather than an established single cause.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why such a long life increases conservation risk
A species that grows slowly and reproduces late has little ability to replace adults quickly after losses. Greenland sharks are also vulnerable to incidental capture in nets and on lines. NOAA says most sharks entering fishing gear today are caught accidentally and identifies reducing bycatch as critical to conservation.
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Several population and reproductive details remain unresolved. COSEWIC says litter size, gestation length, reproductive cycle, mating sites, and pupping grounds are still uncertain. Its generation-time estimates range from 63 to more than 200 years, with 150–200 years considered likely. That uncertainty makes it difficult to predict how quickly populations can recover from fishing-related mortality.
What the “300-year-old shark” headline gets right—and wrong
- Right: Greenland sharks are among the most extraordinarily long-lived vertebrates known, with a study-based minimum estimate of 272 years.
- Right: The largest shark examined in the 2016 sample could have been several centuries old.
- Wrong if taken literally: Scientists have not identified a living shark with a precisely verified 300-year birthday.
- Not established: A definitive maximum lifespan for the species, or a proven explanation that cold water alone causes its longevity.
What remains unknown
The evidence currently supports remarkable longevity, but not a precise lifespan limit. COSEWIC notes that the radiocarbon approach has not yet been independently validated for Greenland sharks and that uncertainty in deep-ocean carbon cycling affects the estimates. The 28-shark sample also consisted entirely of females, so it does not establish identical ages or growth patterns for all sexes, populations, or individuals.
For the latest public explanation of the age estimate and the species’ ecology, see NOAA’s overview, “How long do Greenland sharks live?” COSEWIC’s full 2025 assessment is available at Canada’s species-at-risk registry.
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