I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF

[Rivverrat]

He's been hooked before. Is that wire or line in the top of his mouth ?

[Shark Hunter]

Those are parasites.

[Dominick]

Looking at that picture mako me nervous.    Dominick

[sdlehr]

Those may be parasites INSIDE the mouth, but that transverse tear of the skin between the snout and the upper lip looks to be an injury to this veterinarian.

[Rivverrat]

Possibly from another shark. Those are parasites I wasnt for sure at first... Jeff

[oc1]

I don't know of parasites that look quite like that and think there is a hook buried in the roof of it's mouth.
-steve

[Shark Hunter]

Do a little research, there are no hooks in this Shark's mouth.
Only Battle scars from doing what he does best.
They are Copepods.

[Rivverrat]

I beleive they are parasites. That was my first thought. Then looked a little more & thought it was wire leader.  I do beleive it's parasites. However cant say I've looked into the mouth of many sharks... Jeff

[Shark Hunter]

I have looked into many a Shark's Mouth Jeff.
Just not a Mako.
I still can't get that image out of my head this past Sept. When Robin caught that 4' Blacktip.
He might have been small, but his rows of teeth were intimidating.
After his third attempt to bite me, he left with the hook in his mouth.
Something I hate to do, but it is not worth me getting bit over it.

[oc1]

Parasitic copepods have a split tail like that, but I did not think they could get that large.  Without a circulatory system there are limits to how big they can be.  Maybe the fish is smaller than I imagined.
-steve

[Rivverrat]

I have looked into many a Shark's Mouth Jeff.
Just not a Mako.
I still can't get that image out of my head this past Sept. When Robin caught that 4' Blacktip.
He might have been small, but his rows of teeth were intimidating.
After his third attempt to bite me, he left with the hook in his mouth.
Something I hate to do, but it is not worth me getting bit over it.

Daron, not doubting anything. While of course its best to remove a hook out of respect to these fish on the other hand I wouldnt worry much about leaving a hook in a sharks mouth or most other fish. If you want I can get you studies done on this. A sharks mouth, some a little more than others is a ready made thing for doing battle & this goes way past the obvious being their teeth. A sharks mouth has an extremely tenacious capacity to take abuse. Far more than a leaving a hook would cause.

This summer fishing for them I will be using carbon hooks. Should I have to leave one they are expelled faster than stainless.  Much better to return a shark quickly to the water with a hook in its mouth than fiddle with it for any lengthy time in attempts to free a hook.

It's hard to come up with man made stuff that compares on the same level. Sharks are magnificent thing! One which man will never know all there is to know about ... Jeff

[sdlehr]

https://www.reddit.com/r/marinebiology/comments/4fucvc/what_are_these_parasites_in_this_sharks_mouth/

[54bullseye]

Some of you guys have to much time on your hands !!!!  Lol !!!           John Taylor

[Rivverrat]

Some of you guys have to much time on your hands !!!!  Lol !!!           John Taylor

Ya it's called winter. A mind numbing thing at times... Jeff