Mo Ganji: Daggernose Shark | Dolchnasenhai | Isogomphodon oxyrhynchus | No. 067/250 from work group 8/99

Daggernose Shark | Dolchnasenhai | Isogomphodon oxyrhynchus

Mo Ganji’s single line engages with the daggernose shark — a slender coastal shark distinguished by its elongated, blade-like snout — as a reduction to essential presence. The continuous line offers a restrained suggestion of form, one that may be read as “shark” yet remains open to other meanings. By letting detail recede, Ganji allows essence to surface before the certainty of classification takes hold.

Isogomphodon oxyrhynchus is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Endemic to the western Atlantic coast of northern South America, the species inhabits shallow, turbid waters along estuaries and continental shelves, primarily from Brazil to the Guianas. Its range is narrow, and population numbers have declined precipitously over recent decades.

The principal threats include intense fishing pressure, both targeted and as bycatch in gillnet and trawl fisheries, as well as degradation of coastal and estuarine habitats. Because the daggernose shark has a slow life history, low reproductive output and strong site fidelity, depleted populations recover poorly. Ongoing coastal development further erodes the already limited environments on which the species depends.

Ganji’s single line offers a moment of attention freed from narrative and data. In the pared-down contour, the shark appears as a presence rather than a problem to be managed, quietly recalling that the human habit of placing ourselves outside nature obscures how deeply our economies, appetites and assumptions shape the lives unfolding within the same shared waters.