River Monsters S05E06 Legend of Loch Ness

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Documentary, River Monsters S05E06 Legend of Loch Ness   #RiverMonsters #Documentary #LegendofLochNess  #LochNess

Transcript

00:00:00My name is Jeremy Wade

00:00:03For 30 years, I've traveled the world in search of legendary river monsters

00:00:09I think that he would have drowned

00:00:11It's the most brutal thing you'll ever witness

00:00:15This fish can take a small person in one mouthful

00:00:20I've uncovered creatures that people didn't believe were out there

00:00:24But all the time, there's been something lurking in my own backyard

00:00:33Unmentioned ignored but whose legend looms larger than any other the mother of all freshwater monster myths

00:00:41Loch Ness

00:00:44I had drawn a line at this challenge, but I've learned over the years that there's no smoke without fire

00:00:50And now, I can't ignore the legend any longer

00:00:56But can I get any closer to the creature?

00:00:59At its heart

00:01:01On an epic journey that turns into a personal obsession

00:01:04I travel from the depths of Loch Ness

00:01:08To remote highlands

00:01:11And beyond

00:01:13In my quest to reveal what's behind the legend

00:01:16Of Loch Ness

00:01:20The legend of the Loch Ness monster is known all around the world

00:01:36And whether you believe there is a creature in there or not

00:01:40No one can doubt the story's grip on the imagination

00:01:45Often in my investigations, I only have one vague report to go on

00:01:49But at Loch Ness there may have been more than a thousand sightings

00:01:54This mystery is swamped with alleged evidence that I have to wade through

00:01:59Many of the reports have conflicting descriptions

00:02:01So it's virtually impossible to pick out the shreds of truth

00:02:06And we now know that some of the most iconic monster photos are fakes

00:02:10Separating the fact from the fantasy that surrounds this legendary river monster

00:02:19It's going to be a monumental challenge

00:02:22This Loch is more than deep enough to hide a monstrous secret

00:02:26But what is it?

00:02:31The Loch cuts through the heart of the Scottish Highlands

00:02:35But before heading there, I start my investigation in Scotland's oldest museum

00:02:41The Hunterian in Glasgow

00:02:43This is the fossilised skeleton of a prehistoric aquatic reptile called a plesiosaur

00:03:04A plesiosaur

00:03:06For many people this is what they've come to believe the Loch Ness monster is

00:03:13But it's hard for me to fully embrace that idea

00:03:17And not because this creature's prehistoric

00:03:20Many of the monsters I've caught in my investigations swam in rivers and seas at the same time as the plesiosaur

00:03:27This is a true dinosaur of the deep

00:03:33And not because of space

00:03:35The Loch is big enough and deep enough to hide a creature this large

00:03:41For me the major issue with this theory is the fact that the plesiosaur is a reptile

00:03:46Now all reptiles even those that live in water are air breathers

00:03:50This animal would have to come to the surface several times every day to breathe

00:03:58And surfacing makes you visible

00:04:02Now I find it very hard to believe that a lake as highly scrutinised as Loch Ness

00:04:08could hide an air breather for so long

00:04:12So if this monster isn't hiding in the vast Scottish loch

00:04:20What is?

00:04:25Loch Ness is the largest freshwater lake in Great Britain

00:04:30More than 700 feet deep and 22 miles long

00:04:34It fills a channel carved by glaciers along a fault line created when the land mass carrying Scotland

00:04:43crashed into Scandinavia

00:04:45400 million years ago

00:04:48Ancient dark and very cold what secrets hide in its lightless waters

00:04:57Most of the mysteries that I investigate are fairly obscure and only to a few local people

00:05:02But this case is very different Loch Ness is a place that is known about worldwide

00:05:07But does that mean that looking under the surface here is too much to take on?

00:05:13I have to believe it isn't

00:05:16People have always said there's something sinister in the water here

00:05:20But it took until the early 20th century for the monster to finally surface

00:05:26Before the 1930s this road that I'm driving on didn't exist

00:05:29So there wasn't really access for people to get to the side of the lock here

00:05:32But as soon as the road was in place well that was when the famous sightings happened

00:05:37And that's when the Loch Ness monster acquired its international fame

00:05:42The most famous sighting happened in 1933

00:05:46When a local couple Mr and Mrs Mackay were driving along the newly improved Inverness Road

00:05:52Suddenly Mrs Mackay caught sight of a giant creature in the water with a whale-like back

00:06:02But by the time her husband had stopped the car

00:06:07It had gone

00:06:10The local paper published a report using the word monster in connection with the loch for the very first time

00:06:17And a legend was born

00:06:23Around a million people a year visit this part of scotland many hoping to get a glimpse of the monster

00:06:30Some search for a lifetime in vain

00:06:34But val moffat had only been living on the loch for a year when just like the mackays she spotted something from the road

00:06:40I was driving up the hill i'd come back from inverness

00:06:46I looked across the bay

00:06:48And i saw this dark lump in the water

00:06:52Sort of slate gray colors

00:06:55Shiny from the water that was all over it

00:06:58It looked like a boat that had turned upside down

00:07:02And i thought what's that

00:07:07Crikey it's got to be the monster

00:07:10I would have loved to have pulled in and watched it

00:07:17But there was traffic close behind me it was impossible to stop

00:07:22I glanced to maybe three four times

00:07:27And the final time it was gone

00:07:31So how did you know that this thing was alive

00:07:33It was a completely different size to the waves and it was still it wasn't moving like the waves do

00:07:39I've never seen a wave as big as it

00:07:42There was a lady who lived around the corner

00:07:44And she had seen it 13 times and she saw exactly the same as i did

00:07:50Right that's interesting so the the sort of stereotypical picture that we all have of many loops or a body and then a neck

00:07:59The actual people who've who live here and who've seen something it's all it's not like that

00:08:04It's more like an upturned boat hull

00:08:06Yes, definitely. I think it's just something with a solid body

00:08:16Val is very clear that what she saw was the monster and she also knows other people who've seen it

00:08:22And what they saw was the same thing which very definitely wasn't this multi-humped sea serpent that is the common depiction of the monster

00:08:35It's time to start applying my monster hunting skills to get to the bottom of this mystery

00:08:41The word lock is the scottish gallic name for a lake or sea inlet

00:08:48And this one is so fast that it could almost swallow manhattan

00:08:52Although it's in my backyard this will be the first time i've cast a line into its dark unfathomable waters

00:09:00Clearly i'm not expecting to pull out a monster right away

00:09:04My first step is to find out what fish it could be feeding on

00:09:08This is really fishing at its

00:09:11Simplest this is the classic thing the little boy does when he first goes fishing it's just a worm

00:09:18Or a night crawler as they're sometimes called on a hook cast it out it's got movement it's got smell

00:09:26What could resist that

00:09:28I've no clue what might be lurking beneath us

00:09:37But if something is tempted by my wriggling bait

00:09:40Then it will give me my first insight into the dark depths of the world's most mysterious body of water

00:09:52Here we go here we go here we go

00:09:53It looks like i've hooked the slimiest creature in the loch

00:10:09One of the stereotypical pictures of the Loch Ness monster is something that's quite snake-like

00:10:14It's a long animal with humps which poke out of the water

00:10:18And here we go. This is this is a snake-like fish that lives in the water. This is a freshwater eel

00:10:24This slippery predator is a native fish once caught here for food, but now critically endangered

00:10:32Anything is

00:10:34This one's probably three quarters of a pound something like that

00:10:37But at the very biggest you're going to get one here four or five pounds maybe so what three four feet long

00:10:42The world's biggest freshwater eels called long fins live in new zealand

00:10:54As massive as they are possibly reaching eight foot even they wouldn't measure up to the legend of this log

00:11:02The question is could the european eel be food for a much larger creature one that somehow remains hidden

00:11:12I carry on fishing but the only creatures biting are more eels

00:11:18Lots of fish but all the same species and all small as well

00:11:23But i think just looking around it just has the feel of a lake that's not very productive if you follow the line of the hillside

00:11:29This is just going to plunge down into the depths so you haven't really got the

00:11:33Sunlit shallows that give that nice weedy base to the food pyramid here

00:11:38So compared to a lot of places i've been to before this has a somewhat lifeless feel to it

00:11:45So i'm beginning to wonder whether these extremely deep dark waters are able to support much life at all

00:11:53When i come across a scientist who does believe that a very large creature could be patrolling the depths of the log

00:12:01something primitive

00:12:03reptilian

00:12:04very monstrous looking

00:12:06i'm fishing loch ness on the trail of the world's most famous river monster

00:12:23so far the lock has held on to its secrets and i've only managed to bring up eels from its extraordinarily deep waters

00:12:36i need some inside information

00:12:40fisherman alex sutherland caught his first salmon from the lock 50 years ago and knows much of the centuries

00:12:46old folklore that surrounds this mysterious lake

00:12:49there's something different about the place there's something more than just a natural phenomena

00:12:54there's a presence and of course going back further in legend the water kelpie the fabled water horse

00:12:59that would come out of a body of water and run away with your children and submerge again

00:13:04was a very real fear in the minds of early settlers

00:13:08have you ever seen anything unusual out on the lock

00:13:11well you're not the first person to ask me that i've got an open mind and uh it may well be there's something i've yet to see out there

00:13:21alex told me another story

00:13:24of an ancient written account of the monster savagely attacking and killing a man here

00:13:30around 1500 years ago

00:13:33if true this could be a game changer it's the first indication that the beast i'm trying to hunt down

00:13:40may not be an elusive gentle giant spotted from afar but instead a man hunter

00:13:50this lock doesn't look as murky as most of the fresh water i fish in

00:13:55so i can't pass up the opportunity to see for myself what lives below the surface of the world's most

00:14:01mysterious lake

00:14:05the water is translucent but stained dark the color of tea

00:14:09by peat washed down from the bogs that smother the surrounding mountains

00:14:17the deeper i go the darker it becomes until it is literally pitch black

00:14:24this water very very interesting close in you can see the bottom there's this illusion of clarity

00:14:44but if you follow the bottom out there's a sudden shoulder and it just plunges down into deep water

00:14:51and you look out there and it's just black and it's not silt it's this staining that the water's got

00:14:56it just eats up the light

00:15:00it's impossible to see if there is a monster in here or not

00:15:06often my quest for monsters takes me to the other side of the world

00:15:10Loch Ness is virtually on my doorstep but has that made me underestimate what could be stalking its

00:15:17vast dark waters out in the depth there could be something the size of a submarine you just wouldn't

00:15:22see it it's really really quite spooky and it's also pretty cold and i'm looking forward to getting out

00:15:28if there is a giant creature in this water then it has to be capable of hunting in the inky darkness

00:15:42maybe more than 700 feet down maybe its prey is hiding down there too i just can't tell but from

00:15:49what i've seen i'm starting to have my doubts are there enough fish in this lock to support a monster

00:15:56if there is something out there something that could have inspired even one of these reports

00:16:01then what am i looking for a giant freshwater predator that hunts in the cold and the dark

00:16:07can stay hidden for years on end the question is is this even possible

00:16:16i'm hoping one man might have some answers

00:16:19scientist adrian shine has scrutinized these obscure waters for more than 40 years

00:16:28he's responsible for the most audacious survey ever undertaken on the loch

00:16:33operation deep scan

00:16:37at the time in the 1980s it cost more than a million dollars and employed 20 vessels traveling

00:16:42the entire length of the loch scanning its depths with a curtain of sonar

00:16:49they didn't find a monster and adrian believes that the surface action of the 700 foot deep

00:16:55loch can be deceiving creating illusions in the waves

00:17:01you've only got to look at boat wakes on a calm day

00:17:05and you will see lots and lots of multi-humped sea serpents and this was recognized by the early

00:17:11investigators of the subject for more than a century large boats have sailed the 22 mile long

00:17:18loch parallel to shore sending out rolling wakes behind them these can still be disturbing the

00:17:25surface half an hour after the boat has gone and they are clearly visible from the road a bit more

00:17:31difficult to explain the plesiosaur that marine reptile contemporary with the dinosaurs with the

00:17:38long neck the single hump water birds might account for that there are a host of things that

00:17:45can account for it logs can be seen floating on Loch Ness logs can be seen apparently swimming against

00:17:53the wind the stereotypes and certainly the classic pictures may have nothing to do with what is

00:18:01actually living maybe or be seen in Loch Ness but it doesn't mean that monstrous things cannot be seen

00:18:10there but is it possible though that if you discount the boat wakes and things like floating logs that

00:18:17there still could be something animus in here the fish that we have in here salmon the brown trout

00:18:25the sea trout the arctic char all those fish have come up from the sea up the seven miles of the river

00:18:34nest does that leave room for possibly a large creature coming up the river from the sea we've

00:18:42become aware over the last 20 years that seals enter the lock quite often they follow the salmon up and

00:18:49they leave again because they wouldn't be sustained by the law male gray seals can grow to almost eight

00:18:56feet and 700 pounds could an even larger creature make its way in here from the sea

00:19:02there is another candidate that i'm guilty of suggesting which could conceivably be involved

00:19:11the sturgeon the sturgeon is a very primitive reptilian looking fish it's very large very monstrous looking

00:19:20it is conceivable that the occasional navigationally challenged sturgeon might come up the river

00:19:29nest into loch ness seeking a mate be disappointed and go away so adrian believes it is possible that

00:19:40a monster could enter the loch and then head back out the river ness which connects the loch to the sea

00:19:47opens up an ocean of possibilities this could explain how a very large creature could be seen in the loch

00:19:55when there don't seem to be enough fish here to support a resident population of large predators

00:20:01but does that mean the sturgeon is the top candidate oh i don't think so sturgeon don't have any teeth

00:20:08and alex told me that the beast in the ancient texts had enough bite to kill a man

00:20:14is there another more toothy and ultimately lethal candidate out there

00:20:18i'm heading down the river ness to find out my journey is about to take a dangerous turn

00:20:35loch ness is famous for its monster but what other disturbing secret lurks on the bottom of the loch

00:20:41the loch there's a layer of radioactive sediment from the fallout of the chernobyl disaster

00:21:02i'm in scotland trying to discover if there's a real creature behind the legend of the loch

00:21:08this monster but so far i've been unable to penetrate the loch's dark secrets out in the

00:21:14depth there could be something the size of a submarine you just wouldn't see it

00:21:19for tens of thousands of years the loch was buried under an immense ice sheet three quarters of a mile

00:21:26thick it was only when the ice melted that fish from the sea like salmon could swim back in up the

00:21:33seven mile long river nests recently the fish have been pursued by gray seals easily identifiable when

00:21:42they come up for air but is anything more sinister coming in with them i've taken to the river to find out

00:21:52the river to find out but this gateway to the sea can be a little tough to negotiate

00:22:10so

00:22:22The route between the loch and the sea is not totally straightforward.

00:22:30To my mind, that represents quite a significant obstacle.

00:22:34Low water, fast, and even though my head was above the water,

00:22:37I could feel those rocks on the bottom.

00:22:40The water's too shallow here for a giant to pass through at this time of year,

00:22:44but in times of flood, the river can rise above this level by as much as seven feet.

00:22:50The river Ness is a prized and protected wild salmon river,

00:22:54and it's only with special permission that I can test these waters without fear of prosecution.

00:23:02I'm eager to investigate.

00:23:05As well as catching fish, a fishing line will also reveal something of the underwater topography.

00:23:11Apparently that slack on the other side there, although the river's low,

00:23:15was about 15 foot of water,

00:23:17so that's just the kind of place where anything coming up the river on its way to the loch

00:23:21might just rest out.

00:23:27So I'm trying to drop it in there, let it sink,

00:23:30and then I'm keeping the rod up because

00:23:32if I drop the rod, we've got this very fast water between me and the slack,

00:23:37and that would just whip it out of that zone.

00:23:41I want the lure to be in there for as long as possible.

00:23:46A bright, flashy lure should attract attention in these peat-stained waters.

00:23:50If there is something lurking in the deep pools,

00:24:06it doesn't want to make itself known.

00:24:09As is so often the case with monster hunting,

00:24:15I have to feel my way,

00:24:17trying to build up a mental picture of the river

00:24:19as I journey downstream to where it meets the sea.

00:24:23Well, this is it.

00:24:24This is the mouth of the river Ness,

00:24:25where it opens out into the Murray first.

00:24:28So this is actually a threshold for anything coming into the river

00:24:32from out there.

00:24:33But out there is a whole new world of marine creatures.

00:24:40This isn't my domain.

00:24:42So where do I go from here?

00:24:45Since my arrival at Loch Ness,

00:24:47I've discovered that despite its vast size,

00:24:50there are very few animals living in it.

00:24:53Scientist Adrian Shine has studied the loch for more than 40 years,

00:24:57and he's only ever recorded six species of freshwater fish

00:25:01that live there permanently.

00:25:03None more than four foot long.

00:25:12I think it's clear that no known freshwater creature

00:25:15could account for the sightings I've been hearing about.

00:25:18But there is this connection, the river Ness,

00:25:19between Loch Ness and the sea.

00:25:21And from past experience,

00:25:22I know that sometimes large saltwater creatures

00:25:25can make their way inland.

00:25:28The most notorious is the deadly bull shark.

00:25:31But these top predators are warm-water hunters.

00:25:36They need temperatures in the 60s and above.

00:25:40They couldn't survive here, in the frigid 40s of the loch.

00:25:43But perhaps another predator can.

00:25:46Something that's following prey from the sea, up the river and into the loch,

00:25:51feeding on migratory salmon or even seals.

00:25:55So what I want to do now is find out what lives here, in Scotland's coastal waters.

00:26:01I've found someone who's out on the water here every day.

00:26:07Gwyn Tanna is the harbour master at Avogh,

00:26:09a small port on the Murray Firth, close to the mouth of the river Ness.

00:26:13He regularly spots large marine creatures here, close to land.

00:26:19Straight over. Look at that.

00:26:21I'm hoping to track down something much bigger than what I've seen so far in the loch.

00:26:27There, there, there, there, there, there.

00:26:29This could be all I'm after.

00:26:30I'm in the Scottish Highlands,

00:26:44investigating the mystery of the loch Ness monster.

00:26:49I'm after a predator that can survive the cold depths of the dark loch.

00:26:54One that I now suspect travels here up the short river that connects the loch with the sea.

00:27:00I'm travelling out into a vast inlet of the North Sea called the Murray Firth

00:27:07to find out which large marine creatures come close to the river's mouth.

00:27:13There, there, there, there, there, there.

00:27:20Some large animals straight away, but these are very recognisable. These are dolphins.

00:27:25This is the most northerly resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the world.

00:27:31The dark grey adults can reach 13 feet.

00:27:35Judging the size of objects in open water is notoriously tricky,

00:27:39so they could account for some of the sightings.

00:27:41But there's the same flaw with this theory as with the plesiosaur, or grey seals.

00:27:46They're air breathers, they come to the surface regularly.

00:27:52You can't miss them and you know what they are.

00:27:54It's not these that they're talking about in the loch.

00:27:57But seeing them here shows me that the waters right on Loch Ness's doorstep

00:28:01can support populations of large predators.

00:28:04One pod of dolphins is ambushing prey in the shadow of an 18th century fort

00:28:11built to defend the Firth from attack.

00:28:15Right, there's a pod of dolphins in this eddy here.

00:28:18Now that's actually a classic place for predators to hang out

00:28:21because the tide is pushing out, you've got slack water there,

00:28:24that's where fish are going to rest.

00:28:26Salmon particularly coming up, they're going to tuck in there.

00:28:28So the dolphins, they know where the food is and they're hunting there.

00:28:34They're chasing migrating salmon, which are on their way into the loch to breed.

00:28:40But Gwyn's seen plenty of other predators taking advantage of the abundance of these waters.

00:28:46We had a minky whale there, surfaced maybe about 40, 50 metres to one side of us

00:28:53and swam, dived and went right under the boat and came back up the other side.

00:28:59This thing was about 30 foot long.

00:29:00A minky whale is the right size for many of the monster sightings,

00:29:08but it's yet another air breather that would be easily identified.

00:29:14Gwyn tells me, though, that fishermen have encountered another large beast

00:29:18that lives in the depths of the Firth.

00:29:21Out here you fish through the night, the net came aboard, the bag was swung in

00:29:29and this bit of tail came out and then the whole thing came out.

00:29:35The crew were confronted with a thrashing serpent-like creature

00:29:39that Gwyn says was more than 10 feet long.

00:29:41Just a massive thing.

00:29:45And of course it was snapping at everything.

00:29:49Eventually one of the fishermen grabbed its tail and slid it over the side.

00:29:58I don't think anybody's ever seen the likes of that before or since, you know.

00:30:01The thrashing beast was a European conga eel,

00:30:06a permanent resident of salt water and the biggest eel of them all,

00:30:10capable of tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds.

00:30:14But I've never heard of a conga swimming into fresh water.

00:30:19My trip into the Murray Firth has opened my eyes to a whole host of heavyweight contenders.

00:30:23So quite a contrast to the lock.

00:30:27The water actually shallower but full of life,

00:30:30including some large predators and some rare visitors.

00:30:35But so far, none of the potential candidates I've come across

00:30:39can explain the monster sightings I'm investigating.

00:30:45People here have believed in the monster myth for centuries.

00:30:49There has to be some grain of truth within it.

00:30:51I have one last lead to follow up.

00:30:57The ancient story that fisherman Alex Sutherland told me

00:31:01about the man killed by a water beast in the river Ness.

00:31:06This might be my last chance to find a clue to the monster's identity.

00:31:15This land was once inhabited by a mysterious early pagan people

00:31:20known as the Picts.

00:31:23In the 6th century AD, an Irish monk called St Columba

00:31:28came here to convert the Picts to Christianity.

00:31:31He's said to have performed numerous miracles,

00:31:34including the banishment of a water beast from the river Ness.

00:31:40I've arranged to meet an archaeologist

00:31:42who's an expert on the history and legends of the area.

00:31:44I'm hoping Kate McCulloch can give me an idea

00:31:48of what kind of creature it was.

00:31:51Columba comes upon a scene

00:31:52where a man has been brought out of the water.

00:31:56He's completely brutalised by some sort of water beast,

00:32:01a river monster.

00:32:02The people of the area around the river Ness are terrified.

00:32:07But Columba isn't afraid.

00:32:11He sends one of his followers out into the river.

00:32:14And the monster rises from the depths again.

00:32:21Columba demonstrates the power of his god

00:32:24by banishing this beast, telling it to go from the river.

00:32:27And presumably sending it down the river towards the loch.

00:32:37Is there any description of the creature in here?

00:32:40There's nothing to suggest anything

00:32:42about the actual physicality of the monster,

00:32:45just the disturbance of the water.

00:32:48The Picts didn't leave any written records of their own,

00:32:52but Kate has unearthed stone carvings,

00:32:54which might give me an insight into the identity

00:32:56of this savage creature.

00:32:59This is known as the Pictish beast

00:33:01and is generally recognised

00:33:03to be some sort of river or loch monster.

00:33:06It's a folklore that is not exclusive

00:33:09to the north of Scotland.

00:33:10There's certainly a connection to

00:33:12Norse Scandinavian sources

00:33:14with this particular sea or river or loch monster.

00:33:24My quest for the truth behind the legend

00:33:26has taken a turn in a new direction.

00:33:30Kate has offered clues that send my investigation

00:33:33much further back in history.

00:33:37So a monstrous water creature

00:33:39isn't just something that originated

00:33:41in newspaper reports in the 1930s.

00:33:43There's actually a written account of an encounter,

00:33:45a human death in the river Ness,

00:33:471,500 years ago.

00:33:48And at the same time,

00:33:50people were leaving enigmatic carvings

00:33:53of what appears to be a strange water creature.

00:33:57And I wonder if those two things are possibly connected.

00:34:04What's even more intriguing

00:34:06is the discovery that these centuries-old Scottish monster myths

00:34:09may have connections with the Vikings.

00:34:12I need to take a long, hard look at the evidence

00:34:17to figure out where to go next.

00:34:30So far, I haven't found a single creature

00:34:33that I believe could be responsible

00:34:34for monster sightings in the loch.

00:34:37Perhaps I need to take a closer look

00:34:39at the legend's ancient origins.

00:34:41Could that get me any closer to the truth?

00:34:45Could the inspiration for the loch monster

00:34:47come from across the cold northern seas?

00:34:53Viking longships sailed thousands of miles

00:34:56over the northern Atlantic.

00:34:59Raiding parties from Scandinavia

00:35:02stormed and colonised Scotland,

00:35:04and they established a remote outpost on Iceland.

00:35:07These incredibly tough warriors

00:35:12were convinced that these cold seas

00:35:14were home to monsters.

00:35:18Stories of some of these beasts

00:35:19still survive in Norse mythology,

00:35:21and they might harbour the clues I need.

00:35:25The Vikings wrote down their legends

00:35:27around 800 years ago,

00:35:29up here in Iceland,

00:35:31where some ancient texts have survived to this day.

00:35:34To pursue this hunch

00:35:36that the Vikings may hold the key

00:35:38to the legend of Loch Ness,

00:35:39I now have to head

00:35:40to the edge of the Arctic Circle.

00:35:54Iceland is a land of fire and ice,

00:35:57a frozen island literally ripped apart

00:36:00by volcanic activity.

00:36:04Unlike Scotland's ancient rocks,

00:36:07Iceland is constantly forged anew.

00:36:11Top pilot and rally champion Omar Rannesson,

00:36:14now in his 70s,

00:36:15takes me on a white-knuckle ride

00:36:17to show me where most of the island's

00:36:19fresh water is locked up.

00:36:20The processes that form this island

00:36:33normally take place out of sight

00:36:36beneath the ocean.

00:36:37But here, that molten rock pushes up

00:36:39into the air.

00:36:40But then what happens,

00:36:41because it's so far north,

00:36:42is that that is then ground down by ice.

00:36:45So what you've got here

00:36:46is just naked geology,

00:36:48a totally unique landscape.

00:36:50Iceland sits right on the edge

00:36:54of the Arctic Circle.

00:36:5611% of the island's surface

00:36:58is permanently buried

00:36:59under ice and glaciers.

00:37:03Meltwaters feed into hundreds

00:37:04of lakes and rivers,

00:37:06flowing endlessly out to sea.

00:37:10Since Viking times,

00:37:11Icelanders have told countless stories

00:37:14of dangerous water monsters.

00:37:16My travels have shown me

00:37:17that the origins of so many myths

00:37:19lie in real flesh-and-blood creatures,

00:37:22and I won't give up

00:37:23until I get a real flesh-and-blood creature

00:37:25in my hands.

00:37:28The people of this remote,

00:37:30frozen island

00:37:30have always fed themselves

00:37:32from the sea.

00:37:33Fishing is in the Icelanders' DNA.

00:37:35It doesn't take me long

00:37:39to get my first lead

00:37:40about an aggressive hunter

00:37:42of the deep

00:37:43from a sea fisherman

00:37:45called Bergthor.

00:37:46It's just a pure muscle kind of fish

00:37:48with a big head,

00:37:50big teeth.

00:37:52He also gives me

00:37:53some grizzly remains.

00:37:55This is the Stainbitur,

00:37:58which apparently means

00:38:00stone-biter,

00:38:01and you've got these very

00:38:02sharp teeth here,

00:38:05clearly very powerful jaws.

00:38:08I don't think you want your hand

00:38:09too near a life,

00:38:10one of these.

00:38:13I've only got the creature's head

00:38:15to go on,

00:38:16so I've no idea

00:38:17what the rest of this

00:38:18fearsome predator looks like.

00:38:21The only way to find out about it

00:38:23is to get a line in.

00:38:53I'm on the hunt

00:39:07for a creature

00:39:07that could have inspired

00:39:08the legend of Loch Ness.

00:39:11An ancient attack story

00:39:13has launched me

00:39:13from Scotland

00:39:14to an island

00:39:15on the edge

00:39:16of the Arctic Circle.

00:39:18Iceland.

00:39:19Once the remote stronghold

00:39:20of the Vikings,

00:39:21this land is still riddled

00:39:23with monster stories

00:39:24and sightings.

00:39:27This is an island

00:39:28that's always relied

00:39:29on fishing,

00:39:30so I'm back

00:39:31in my element

00:39:31once again.

00:39:33I've started

00:39:34my investigation

00:39:35on a rocky outcrop

00:39:36which plunges

00:39:37for 100 feet

00:39:38below the surface

00:39:39on the hunt

00:39:41for a toothy predator

00:39:42known as

00:39:43the Stonebiter.

00:39:50There's something down there.

00:39:53There we go.

00:39:59Famous cod.

00:40:01Classic three

00:40:01dorsal fins

00:40:03and that's

00:40:04the beard,

00:40:05the barbell

00:40:06in the middle

00:40:07of the chin.

00:40:08It shows

00:40:08there's fish down here

00:40:09anyway,

00:40:10but it's still

00:40:10not what I'm after.

00:40:16I'm going to bring

00:40:17a second rod

00:40:17into play

00:40:18to try and tempt

00:40:19a toothy predator

00:40:20out of hiding.

00:40:24The fish

00:40:25I'm bringing in

00:40:26coalfish,

00:40:27small flatfish,

00:40:29would be as familiar

00:40:30to the ancient Vikings

00:40:31as they are

00:40:33to their Icelandic

00:40:34descendants today.

00:40:37So that's

00:40:38a nice-sized havoc,

00:40:38really nice-looking fish.

00:40:39But the abundance

00:40:43of smaller fish

00:40:44has muddied

00:40:45the waters.

00:40:46Well,

00:40:47if nothing else,

00:40:47I've seen how rich

00:40:48these waters are,

00:40:50but that's really

00:40:52part of the problem.

00:40:52This promising lead

00:40:53that I had

00:40:54from the fisherman,

00:40:54the Stonebiter,

00:40:55well,

00:40:56what's happening

00:40:57is the smaller fish

00:40:57are just reaching the bait,

00:40:58tearing it apart

00:40:59before this toothy,

00:41:01powerful fish

00:41:02can even get a look in.

00:41:03The fisherman Bergthor

00:41:07told me of one

00:41:08other fearsome creature

00:41:09found in the island's waters,

00:41:11a pumped-up predator

00:41:12patrolling

00:41:13a freshwater lake.

00:41:15Maybe I'll have

00:41:15a better chance

00:41:16of getting my hands

00:41:17on a monstrous beast there.

00:41:29This lake

00:41:30was central

00:41:31to Viking life.

00:41:33On its shores,

00:41:34they held their parliament,

00:41:36the first in the world.

00:41:42This water is renowned

00:41:44for its clarity,

00:41:45but there's a darker

00:41:45side to this place.

00:41:46For centuries,

00:41:47this lake was used

00:41:48to drown sinful women,

00:41:50and apparently,

00:41:51theirs weren't the only bodies

00:41:52to be disposed of here.

00:41:57Did this unusual supply

00:41:59of fresh food

00:42:00allow some fish here

00:42:01to grow into the giants

00:42:02I've heard of?

00:42:04There's only one way

00:42:05to find out.

00:42:20The problem I've got here

00:42:21is I can see fish,

00:42:25I can see movement

00:42:25in the water,

00:42:26shapes,

00:42:26they're not very clear,

00:42:27but the water

00:42:27is very transparent

00:42:29so I've got to keep low

00:42:30but also I'm having to

00:42:32contain with this wind

00:42:33which is making it

00:42:34all rather challenging

00:42:35and I'm getting hung up

00:42:37on rocks as well

00:42:37down there.

00:42:41But with the water

00:42:42so unusually clear,

00:42:44there's another way

00:42:45I might see one close up.

00:42:46The visibility is so much better

00:42:59than in Loch Ness

00:43:00but the water

00:43:01is much colder.

00:43:04The fish I could see

00:43:05from the surface

00:43:06turn out to be

00:43:07Arctic char

00:43:08and there's a lot of them.

00:43:09I'm just standing here

00:43:17flapping my fins

00:43:18very gently

00:43:18and it's disturbing

00:43:19the sediment on the bottom

00:43:20and there are big

00:43:21Arctic char

00:43:22coming in.

00:43:23They're taking mouthfuls

00:43:24of the stuff I'm disturbing.

00:43:25There might be insect eggs

00:43:26or whatever down there

00:43:27but they're right in here

00:43:28really, really close.

00:43:31Arctic char

00:43:32are the most numerous fish

00:43:33to live in the comparatively

00:43:35barren Loch Ness

00:43:36but there

00:43:37they are virtually invisible

00:43:39in its deep

00:43:40peat-stained waters.

00:43:42I suspect that these fish

00:43:43might be prey

00:43:44for the elusive predator

00:43:45I've heard about

00:43:46but which so far

00:43:47is nowhere to be seen.

00:43:49I find out

00:43:50that there's a man

00:43:51on the other side

00:43:51of the lake

00:43:52who has a knack

00:43:53for catching aquatic predators.

00:43:56Johan Stollarsson

00:43:57introduces me

00:43:58to Iceland's legendary

00:43:59Øreli

00:44:00a supersized

00:44:02predatory

00:44:04trout.

00:44:05Now compared to

00:44:07brown trout

00:44:08in say

00:44:08England

00:44:10or North America

00:44:10this is an absolute monster.

00:44:13This one's about 15 pounds

00:44:14but apparently

00:44:15they're

00:44:16taken out here

00:44:17sometimes 25 pounds

00:44:19even 30 pounds.

00:44:21Now there's something

00:44:21really special

00:44:22about this lake.

00:44:24They're so strong

00:44:26they have to be bathed

00:44:27in anaesthetic

00:44:28before handling.

00:44:30Johans has dedicated

00:44:31years of his life

00:44:32to catching and tagging

00:44:33these elusive predators

00:44:34to understand

00:44:35how and why

00:44:36they grow so large.

00:44:39The lake itself

00:44:40it's very productive.

00:44:42We have here

00:44:43endless tons

00:44:44of chard

00:44:45the main

00:44:46thing

00:44:47on their menu.

00:44:49So these fish

00:44:50they're not feeding

00:44:50on sort of insect larvae

00:44:52and these are

00:44:52laying into smaller fish?

00:44:54Yeah.

00:44:55They are massively

00:44:56growing

00:44:56more than 3 kilo

00:44:57per year.

00:44:58So in pounds

00:45:00about 6 pounds

00:45:01a year?

00:45:01Yeah.

00:45:02Yeah.

00:45:02Wow.

00:45:03That's impressive.

00:45:04The biggest one

00:45:05the jaws

00:45:06are that massive

00:45:07that you can

00:45:08take it

00:45:09and put it

00:45:09around your head.

00:45:11Quite scary.

00:45:12These are tough guys.

00:45:14But not so tough

00:45:16they could strike

00:45:16terror

00:45:17into the Vikings

00:45:17and give rise

00:45:19to a water monster

00:45:20legend.

00:45:22But Johans tells me

00:45:24about another lake

00:45:25in the east

00:45:26that many Icelanders

00:45:27believe is home

00:45:28to an immense

00:45:29and ancient

00:45:29water monster.

00:45:31And this monster

00:45:32has actually

00:45:34been captured

00:45:34on video.

00:45:36I'm on the edge

00:45:49of the Arctic

00:45:49in Iceland

00:45:51the far-flung

00:45:52outpost

00:45:52of the Vikings

00:45:53seafaring kingdom.

00:45:55I'm hunting

00:45:56for a cold water

00:45:57predator

00:45:57that could have

00:45:58inspired the legend

00:45:59of the Loch Ness

00:46:00monster.

00:46:03I've already

00:46:04encountered

00:46:05giant trout

00:46:06gorging themselves

00:46:07on arctic char

00:46:08and growing

00:46:09to three times

00:46:10their normal size.

00:46:12Now I've had

00:46:12a tip-off

00:46:13about a centuries-old

00:46:14water monster

00:46:15that was filmed

00:46:16in a glacial lake

00:46:17last spring.

00:46:22The thing that

00:46:23really strikes me

00:46:24about this lake

00:46:25is just how similar

00:46:26it looks to Loch Ness.

00:46:27It's very long

00:46:28but comparatively

00:46:29quite narrow

00:46:30and clearly in places

00:46:31it's very deep.

00:46:32The big difference

00:46:33though is the water.

00:46:35This lake

00:46:36is fed by water

00:46:36that flows down

00:46:37directly from a glacier

00:46:39which is still

00:46:40grinding rocks

00:46:41to dust.

00:46:42These waters

00:46:43are permanently

00:46:44clouded by sediment.

00:46:47Loch Ness

00:46:47the visibility

00:46:48is pretty poor

00:46:49but here

00:46:50it's almost

00:46:50non-existent.

00:46:51You wouldn't see

00:46:51anything at all

00:46:52in this water

00:46:53unless it was

00:46:54breaking the surface.

00:46:55but that's exactly

00:47:01what happened

00:47:02last spring.

00:47:03A stunned farmer

00:47:04saw ancient legend

00:47:05turn into living reality

00:47:07when he looked out

00:47:08of his kitchen window.

00:47:11I meet

00:47:12Icelander

00:47:12Hjöta Kjerov

00:47:13to find out

00:47:14exactly what emerged

00:47:15from these murky waters.

00:47:17So he's in the kitchen

00:47:24right here

00:47:24making his morning

00:47:26cup of coffee

00:47:26looking out the window

00:47:28saw something

00:47:30at first

00:47:31didn't really register it

00:47:32but then

00:47:33noticed that there was

00:47:34something strange

00:47:35in the water

00:47:36and

00:47:37went to get his camera

00:47:39Hjöta captured

00:47:44the first video footage

00:47:45of a creature

00:47:45long described

00:47:46as the

00:47:47Leijafljöt worm

00:47:48in the melting

00:47:50lake ice

00:47:50of spring.

00:47:53And this was

00:47:54just outside here.

00:47:56The position of it

00:47:58was literally

00:47:58just a matter of yards

00:48:0010 or 15 yards

00:48:01away from the bank

00:48:02down here.

00:48:06He said it was

00:48:07moving like a snake.

00:48:09It appears to be

00:48:10going slightly

00:48:10against the current.

00:48:13So how long

00:48:14was it there for?

00:48:14How long did you

00:48:15watch it for?

00:48:18It was there

00:48:19for a long time.

00:48:19He watched it

00:48:20for several minutes.

00:48:21He started here

00:48:22and then he went

00:48:23outside

00:48:23and eventually

00:48:25he just went off

00:48:25because he had

00:48:26work to do

00:48:27when eventually

00:48:29he got back.

00:48:29It was dark.

00:48:31The next day

00:48:32it had gone.

00:48:39There's no question

00:48:40that Hüter

00:48:41believes what

00:48:41he filmed

00:48:42is real

00:48:42and it fits

00:48:43the description

00:48:44of a creature

00:48:44reported here

00:48:45for hundreds

00:48:46of years.

00:48:49I'm sure

00:48:49his video

00:48:50is genuine

00:48:50not a malicious

00:48:51fake like

00:48:52some of the

00:48:53footage or images

00:48:53from Loch Ness.

00:48:55The most famous

00:48:56photograph there

00:48:57was later revealed

00:48:58to be of a

00:48:59sculpted model

00:49:00mounted on a

00:49:01toy submarine.

00:49:01Some believe

00:49:03that Hüter's

00:49:04footage shows

00:49:05surface ice

00:49:05flowing around

00:49:06a fishing net

00:49:07that's snagged

00:49:08on a submerged

00:49:09branch.

00:49:10But others

00:49:11are convinced

00:49:12it is the

00:49:13beast of legend.

00:49:14Its remarkably

00:49:15reptilian head

00:49:16is exactly

00:49:16what you might

00:49:17expect from

00:49:18an aquatic

00:49:18predator.

00:49:20The only way

00:49:21I can come

00:49:22to any conclusions

00:49:22is to find out

00:49:23for myself.

00:49:25But the cloudy

00:49:26waters here

00:49:26don't give

00:49:27anything away.

00:49:31Just looking

00:49:34at the water

00:49:34up close

00:49:35it's really

00:49:36thick.

00:49:36You can hardly

00:49:37see into it

00:49:37at all

00:49:37so it's hard

00:49:38to imagine

00:49:38anything here

00:49:39operating as

00:49:40a sight predator.

00:49:42So it's not

00:49:42just what's

00:49:43in the water

00:49:44but also me

00:49:46that's operating

00:49:47blind here.

00:49:55It seems

00:49:56like this monster

00:49:57may have melted

00:49:57away with the

00:49:58ice.

00:50:01But like

00:50:05Loch Ness

00:50:06the Laia

00:50:06Flirt legend

00:50:07has endured

00:50:08for centuries.

00:50:11Given the

00:50:11Vikings intimate

00:50:12relationship

00:50:13with everything

00:50:13aquatic

00:50:14I wonder

00:50:15whether some

00:50:15of their

00:50:15tales of

00:50:16mythical beasts

00:50:17are not

00:50:17imaginary

00:50:18but actual

00:50:19accounts

00:50:19of what's

00:50:20in the water.

00:50:21I need

00:50:22to take a

00:50:22look at

00:50:23the origins

00:50:24of Hürta's

00:50:25lake monster.

00:50:28I've heard

00:50:28of a man

00:50:29who might

00:50:29be able

00:50:30to help

00:50:30me.

00:50:31A priest

00:50:32and historian

00:50:33who's made

00:50:33it his

00:50:34mission

00:50:34to uncover

00:50:35and catalogue

00:50:35all of

00:50:36Iceland's

00:50:36water

00:50:37monsters.

00:50:42Segador

00:50:43Ayersen

00:50:43shows me

00:50:44a national

00:50:45treasure

00:50:45a 400

00:50:47year old

00:50:47map

00:50:48literally

00:50:49covered

00:50:49in water

00:50:50beasts.

00:50:50are there

00:50:54stories

00:50:54about

00:50:55some

00:50:55of

00:50:55these

00:50:55creatures?

00:50:56Yes

00:50:56there are

00:50:56stories

00:50:56about

00:50:57them.

00:50:57For

00:50:58example

00:50:58we have

00:50:59this one

00:51:00here

00:51:00it's called

00:51:01Stöckut

00:51:02it means

00:51:03the jumper

00:51:03it was a

00:51:05dangerous

00:51:05whale

00:51:06this is

00:51:08most certainly

00:51:09the

00:51:09lingback

00:51:10it was

00:51:11supposed to

00:51:12be

00:51:12the largest

00:51:13of all

00:51:13whales

00:51:14lingback

00:51:15means

00:51:16trees

00:51:17on its

00:51:17back

00:51:17like

00:51:18on an

00:51:18island

00:51:18it was

00:51:20supposed

00:51:21to be

00:51:22very big

00:51:23very big

00:51:25Are there

00:51:27any

00:51:27drawings

00:51:28or records

00:51:28of large

00:51:29fish

00:51:29in the

00:51:30Icelandic

00:51:31waters?

00:51:32We have

00:51:33a story

00:51:35from

00:51:36the 10th

00:51:37century

00:51:37in the

00:51:38sagas

00:51:39about

00:51:39a boy

00:51:40who was

00:51:41asked

00:51:41to carry

00:51:42a big

00:51:42fish

00:51:42from a

00:51:43boat

00:51:43if he

00:51:44could

00:51:44do it

00:51:45then

00:51:45he

00:51:45was

00:51:46to

00:51:46keep

00:51:46it

00:51:46he

00:51:47succeeded

00:51:48in

00:51:48doing

00:51:49this

00:51:49some

00:51:51say

00:51:51this

00:51:54is

00:51:54one

00:51:55of

00:51:55the

00:51:55shark

00:51:55species

00:51:55he

00:51:56was

00:51:56carrying

00:51:56So even

00:51:57though

00:51:58we're

00:51:58talking

00:51:59cold

00:51:59northern

00:52:00water

00:52:01here

00:52:01you've

00:52:01got

00:52:02sharks

00:52:02swimming

00:52:02off

00:52:03Iceland

00:52:03Yes

00:52:03we have

00:52:04I'd never

00:52:06considered

00:52:07that a

00:52:07shark

00:52:08could be

00:52:08a

00:52:08contender

00:52:09for a

00:52:09Viking

00:52:10terror

00:52:10It's

00:52:11clearly

00:52:12no

00:52:12species

00:52:12I've

00:52:13caught

00:52:13before

00:52:13I don't

00:52:14know

00:52:14of

00:52:14any

00:52:15predatory

00:52:15giants

00:52:16coming

00:52:16this

00:52:16far

00:52:16north

00:52:17So

00:52:18what's

00:52:18this

00:52:18huge

00:52:18shark

00:52:19called

00:52:20Haukartl

00:52:21It

00:52:22also

00:52:22means

00:52:22the

00:52:23one

00:52:23and

00:52:24has

00:52:25been

00:52:25eaten

00:52:25through

00:52:26the

00:52:26ages

00:52:26in

00:52:27Iceland

00:52:27It's

00:52:27a

00:52:27delicacy

00:52:28So

00:52:29they eat

00:52:29it

00:52:29to

00:52:29this

00:52:30day

00:52:30Yeah

00:52:30It's

00:52:31very

00:52:31nice

00:52:32This

00:52:35This

00:52:35is

00:52:35an

00:52:35extraordinary

00:52:36piece

00:52:36of

00:52:36information

00:52:37I

00:52:38came

00:52:38here

00:52:38to

00:52:39find

00:52:39out

00:52:39more

00:52:39about

00:52:40Hürter's

00:52:40lake

00:52:40monster

00:52:41while

00:52:41I

00:52:41ended

00:52:42up

00:52:42hearing

00:52:42about

00:52:42a

00:52:43whole

00:52:43menagerie

00:52:44of

00:52:44water

00:52:44beasts

00:52:44One

00:52:46of

00:52:46which

00:52:46the

00:52:46Haukartl

00:52:47the

00:52:48Vikings

00:52:48battled

00:52:49with

00:52:49as

00:52:49they

00:52:49attempted

00:52:50to

00:52:50bring

00:52:50it

00:52:50in

00:52:51to

00:52:51eat

00:52:51Could

00:52:53a

00:52:53cold

00:52:54water

00:52:54predatory

00:52:55shark

00:52:56have

00:52:56a

00:52:56place

00:52:56in

00:52:57the

00:52:57legend

00:52:57of

00:52:57Loch

00:52:57Ness

00:52:58If

00:52:59it

00:52:59has

00:52:59the

00:52:59iconic

00:53:00dorsal

00:53:00fin

00:53:01of

00:53:01most

00:53:01sharks

00:53:02surely

00:53:02that

00:53:02would

00:53:02give

00:53:03it

00:53:03away

00:53:03I

00:53:05need

00:53:05to

00:53:06find

00:53:06out

00:53:06more

00:53:06Segadour

00:53:23has

00:53:23told

00:53:23me

00:53:24that

00:53:24there's

00:53:24a

00:53:24remote

00:53:24farm

00:53:25in

00:53:25a

00:53:26desert

00:53:26of

00:53:26hardened

00:53:26lava

00:53:27where

00:53:28they

00:53:28still

00:53:28prepare

00:53:28these

00:53:29giant

00:53:29sharks

00:53:30to

00:53:30eat

00:53:30the

00:53:34hanging

00:53:34chunks

00:53:34of

00:53:35flesh

00:53:35don't

00:53:35give

00:53:35away

00:53:36any

00:53:36clues

00:53:36as

00:53:36to

00:53:37what

00:53:37the

00:53:37whole

00:53:37animal

00:53:38might

00:53:38look

00:53:38like

00:53:38Gwythian

00:53:40Hildebrandsen's

00:53:41family

00:53:41has

00:53:41prepared

00:53:42Haukartl

00:53:42meat

00:53:43at

00:53:43their

00:53:43isolated

00:53:44farm

00:53:44since

00:53:44his

00:53:45grandfather's

00:53:45day

00:53:46This

00:53:48is

00:53:48the

00:53:48castor

00:53:49Haukartl

00:53:50Here

00:53:50it is

00:53:51in

00:53:51his

00:53:51final

00:53:52stage

00:53:52of

00:53:53the

00:53:53process

00:53:53So

00:53:54this

00:53:54I

00:53:54can

00:53:54see

00:53:54it

00:53:54dripping

00:53:55so

00:53:55this

00:53:55is

00:53:56what

00:53:56it's

00:53:56just

00:53:56in

00:53:57the

00:53:57air

00:53:57to

00:53:57dry

00:53:58it's

00:53:58drying

00:53:58here

00:53:59to

00:53:59get

00:53:59a

00:53:59better

00:53:59texture

00:54:00When

00:54:00the

00:54:00meat

00:54:01is

00:54:01fresh

00:54:02it's

00:54:03toxic

00:54:03so

00:54:04that's

00:54:04why

00:54:04we

00:54:04do

00:54:05this

00:54:05fermentation

00:54:06process

00:54:06and

00:54:07after

00:54:07the

00:54:07fermentation

00:54:08we

00:54:08hang

00:54:08the

00:54:08pieces

00:54:09up

00:54:09here

00:54:09this

00:54:11This

00:54:11is

00:54:11over

00:54:12400

00:54:12years

00:54:12old

00:54:13in

00:54:13Iceland

00:54:13so

00:54:14it's

00:54:14a

00:54:14very

00:54:14old

00:54:14process

00:54:15Learning

00:54:17that

00:54:17its

00:54:17flesh

00:54:18is

00:54:18laced

00:54:18with

00:54:18poison

00:54:19only

00:54:19adds

00:54:20to

00:54:20the

00:54:20sinister

00:54:20aura

00:54:21surrounding

00:54:21this

00:54:22mysterious

00:54:22shark

00:54:23Apparently

00:54:24fermentation

00:54:25breaks

00:54:25down

00:54:26the

00:54:26toxin

00:54:26but

00:54:27releases

00:54:27a

00:54:27pungent

00:54:28smell

00:54:28of

00:54:28ammonia

00:54:29The

00:54:30flesh

00:54:30I'm

00:54:30about

00:54:30to

00:54:31taste

00:54:31smells

00:54:32of

00:54:32urine

00:54:32It's

00:54:34got a

00:54:34really

00:54:35strong

00:54:35aftertaste

00:54:35it

00:54:36really

00:54:36kicks

00:54:36in

00:54:37it

00:54:38really

00:54:38kicks

00:54:38in

00:54:40the

00:54:40first

00:54:41beer

00:54:41It's

00:54:42not

00:54:42like

00:54:42anything

00:54:43I've

00:54:43tasted

00:54:43before

00:54:44Yeah

00:54:44It's

00:54:45unique

00:54:45But

00:54:45I can

00:54:46imagine

00:54:46though

00:54:46in

00:54:47the

00:54:47old

00:54:47days

00:54:47you've

00:54:48got

00:54:48a

00:54:48big

00:54:48fish

00:54:48you

00:54:49can't

00:54:49eat

00:54:50it

00:54:50all

00:54:50in

00:54:50one

00:54:50go

00:54:50it's

00:54:51wasteful

00:54:51to

00:54:51throw

00:54:52it

00:54:52away

00:54:52you've

00:54:52got

00:54:52to

00:54:52do

00:54:52something

00:54:53with

00:54:53it

00:54:53so

00:54:53this

00:54:53is

00:54:54a

00:54:54traditional

00:54:54method

00:54:54It's

00:54:58strong

00:54:58when it

00:54:59hits

00:54:59the

00:54:59back

00:54:59of

00:54:59your

00:54:59throat

00:54:59Mmm

00:55:01Mmm

00:55:02There's

00:55:02fumes

00:55:02coming

00:55:03It's

00:55:03like

00:55:03very

00:55:04strong

00:55:04cheese

00:55:04in

00:55:05some

00:55:05ways

00:55:05but

00:55:06there's

00:55:06also

00:55:07a

00:55:07very

00:55:07definite

00:55:07fish

00:55:08element

00:55:09there

00:55:09How

00:55:10big

00:55:11is

00:55:11the

00:55:11whole

00:55:12animal?

00:55:12They're

00:55:13from

00:55:14maybe

00:55:1410

00:55:16to

00:55:1620

00:55:16feet

00:55:16and

00:55:17from

00:55:18then

00:55:19then

00:55:19they

00:55:19are

00:55:19maybe

00:55:191,000

00:55:20to

00:55:212,500

00:55:22pounds

00:55:22Wow

00:55:23So

00:55:23yeah

00:55:24they are

00:55:24quite

00:55:24big

00:55:25You

00:55:26don't

00:55:26happen

00:55:26to

00:55:27have

00:55:27a

00:55:27whole

00:55:28one

00:55:29here

00:55:29that I

00:55:30can

00:55:30have

00:55:30a look

00:55:30at

00:55:30Give

00:55:31me

00:55:31a

00:55:31second

00:55:31Right

00:55:32Oh

00:55:38right

00:55:39okay

00:55:39This

00:55:40is

00:55:40his

00:55:41mouth

00:55:41This

00:55:41is

00:55:41a

00:55:41jaw

00:55:42These

00:55:43jaws

00:55:44are

00:55:44peculiar

00:55:44This

00:55:45shark

00:55:45has

00:55:46two

00:55:46quite

00:55:46distinct

00:55:47types

00:55:47of

00:55:48teeth

00:55:48So

00:55:49these

00:55:49ones

00:55:50will

00:55:50grip

00:55:50the

00:55:51food

00:55:51whatever

00:55:51it

00:55:52is

00:55:52and

00:55:52then

00:55:52they

00:55:52shake

00:55:53the

00:55:53head

00:55:53so

00:55:54these

00:55:54ones

00:55:55will

00:55:55then

00:55:55cut

00:55:55it

00:55:55I

00:55:55almost

00:55:56cut

00:55:56myself

00:55:56there

00:55:57Yeah

00:55:57right

00:55:58These

00:56:00jaws

00:56:01belong

00:56:01to a

00:56:01potent

00:56:02predator

00:56:02Seal

00:56:03whale

00:56:04and

00:56:04even

00:56:04polar

00:56:05bear

00:56:05meat

00:56:05and

00:56:06body

00:56:06parts

00:56:06have

00:56:06turned

00:56:07up

00:56:07in

00:56:07its

00:56:07stomach

00:56:07It

00:56:10comes from

00:56:11big boats

00:56:12big trawlers

00:56:12who catch

00:56:13them

00:56:14accidentally

00:56:14My

00:56:15grandfather

00:56:16used to

00:56:16do it

00:56:16he used to

00:56:17catch them

00:56:17So how would your grandfather catch these?

00:56:19They used an ankle

00:56:21with chain on it

00:56:22and they put

00:56:23maybe a seal meat on it

00:56:25or meat from a horse

00:56:26So a big hook on a chain

00:56:28and a big bait

00:56:29Yeah

00:56:30Wow

00:56:31If I want to see a live one of these

00:56:34I need to go and talk to somebody

00:56:36on one of the big boats

00:56:37Yeah

00:56:38Things have taken a very dramatic and strange turn

00:56:45Who would have thought that in these waters

00:56:47there is a massive shark

00:56:48that grows to well in excess of a thousand pounds

00:56:51The only predatory sharks I know of that grow that big

00:56:55can't survive in these near Arctic seas

00:56:58And just from those teeth alone

00:57:01I can tell that it's not like any shark I've encountered before

00:57:04But these people here have been catching it and eating it for centuries

00:57:09Now I only have one course of action

00:57:16to get onto a fishing vessel

00:57:18and hope it will bring in one of these giant sharks

00:57:21But there's a problem

00:57:24Turns out a lot of these boats

00:57:27have already caught their quotas

00:57:29so they're not actually putting out to sea again

00:57:30and those that are

00:57:31are staying out for weeks

00:57:33if not months at a time

00:57:34so I can't do that

00:57:35It really looks as if I've

00:57:37run into something of a dead end

00:57:39I've come so far

00:57:44I won't give up now

00:57:45Eventually

00:57:49I get the name of a fisherman

00:57:50who can catch them

00:57:51But not here in Iceland

00:57:54He's a thousand miles away

00:57:56In Norway

00:57:58This next stage of my mission

00:58:04is going to test me to the limit

00:58:06As I hunt for a creature

00:58:09that's truly

00:58:11the stuff of legend

00:58:14There it is

00:58:15There it is

00:58:16My mission

00:58:28that started in Scotland

00:58:30took a surprising turn

00:58:32to Iceland

00:58:33hunting for the creature

00:58:35at the heart of the legend

00:58:36of Loch Ness

00:58:38Now I'm retracing the voyages

00:58:44of the Vikings

00:58:45back to their original homeland

00:58:47in Norway

00:58:48to the former capital

00:58:49of their seafaring kingdom

00:58:51Trondheim

00:58:52When the Vikings set out from here

00:58:55to raid and colonise new lands

00:58:57they spread tales of terrible water monsters

00:59:01across their expanding empire

00:59:03From the fjords of Norway

00:59:05to the lakes of Iceland

00:59:07and the islands and highlands

00:59:09of Scotland

00:59:10One tale tells

00:59:13of a giant shark

00:59:14Did encounters with this

00:59:16mysterious cold water predator

00:59:18sow the seeds

00:59:20for a massive monster myth

00:59:21that spread to the shores

00:59:23of Loch Ness?

00:59:26Only by hunting down

00:59:28the mysterious shark

00:59:29they call the Haukattl

00:59:31will I find out

00:59:32Norway's harsh mountains

00:59:39are gouged out

00:59:40with glacier-carved fjords

00:59:41which plummet thousands of feet

00:59:43below the surface

00:59:44The ultimate labyrinth

00:59:47for a monster

00:59:47But where to begin?

00:59:51I've been given the name

00:59:52of a professional fisherman

00:59:54who works in the 80-mile-long fjord

00:59:56that connects Trondheim

00:59:57to the sea

00:59:58I'm told he's one of the few

01:00:01who can help me catch

01:00:03this mysterious giant shark

01:00:04on rod and line

01:00:06I hear that Frederick Cullen

01:00:10even has photographs

01:00:11of this strange beast

01:00:13They don't have this huge dorsal fin

01:00:21very little dorsal fin

01:00:23and they're grey

01:00:25or almost black

01:00:26This creature is unlike

01:00:29any other shark

01:00:30with its long dark body

01:00:32and small dorsal fin

01:00:34Without the signature shark

01:00:38it makes me hopeful

01:00:40it's the predator

01:00:40I'm looking for

01:00:41I don't remember the message

01:00:42of that one

01:00:43but it's yours

01:00:44Although I've never seen

01:00:45one in the flesh

01:00:46I recognise this animal

01:00:48In Iceland

01:00:49it's called the Haukattl

01:00:50but I know it

01:00:51as the Greenland shark

01:00:53a creature all but unknown

01:00:55to modern science

01:00:56and first filmed

01:00:58in the wild

01:00:58only ten years ago

01:01:00Greenland sharks

01:01:06live further north

01:01:07than any other shark

01:01:08and they're the only shark

01:01:09to hunt under Arctic ice

01:01:11Their range exactly coincides

01:01:15with the Vikings' kingdom

01:01:16from Greenland

01:01:17to Iceland

01:01:17to Norway

01:01:18and most significantly

01:01:19Scotland

01:01:20We know that the Vikings

01:01:23ate its flesh

01:01:23so this monstrous creature

01:01:25is one they must have been

01:01:26very familiar with

01:01:27But ironically

01:01:32we know almost nothing

01:01:33about these animals

01:01:34So the only way

01:01:36I'll be able to tell

01:01:37if they're capable

01:01:37of inspiring the legend

01:01:39is to catch one

01:01:40But this is going to be

01:01:43a monumental challenge

01:01:44Here these monsters

01:01:45live at the bottom

01:01:46of a 2,000 foot

01:01:48deep fjord

01:01:49Trying to get some

01:01:52perspective on this

01:01:53I picture them

01:01:54as a handful

01:01:54of rice grains

01:01:55randomly scattered

01:01:56on the bottom

01:01:57of a swimming pool

01:01:57and have to fight

01:01:59the urge

01:01:59to give up now

01:02:01This will be the first time

01:02:07I've ever tried

01:02:08to fish

01:02:09at such staggering depths

01:02:10and I don't have much time

01:02:12to learn a whole new methodology

01:02:14It's the end of autumn

01:02:18As soon as winter closes in

01:02:19shark fishing

01:02:20in this fjord

01:02:21will be impossible

01:02:22We try to hit the borderline

01:02:27between the rock

01:02:28and the clay

01:02:29It seems like

01:02:30they're cruising around

01:02:31along these edges here

01:02:33searching for food

01:02:34The logistics of working

01:02:38at these depths

01:02:39involve a great deal

01:02:40of precision

01:02:41effort

01:02:41and care

01:02:42Get caught in this rope

01:02:46and you'll be on

01:02:47a one-way trip

01:02:47to the bottom

01:02:48of the fjord

01:02:49We're going to be using

01:02:52somewhere between

01:02:53800,000 metres

01:02:55of anchor line here

01:02:56Right

01:02:57So that's a good

01:02:57half a mile

01:02:58of anchor line

01:02:59Yeah

01:03:00You have to get

01:03:01enough angle

01:03:02of the rope

01:03:02so the anchor

01:03:03can get hold

01:03:04of the clay

01:03:04I'll be using

01:03:08the longest lines

01:03:09I've ever fished with

01:03:10so thick nylon

01:03:11monofilament

01:03:12is out

01:03:13It would create

01:03:14too much drag

01:03:14in the current

01:03:15and the reel

01:03:16would have to be enormous

01:03:17Instead, I'm using

01:03:19woven braid

01:03:20It's very fine

01:03:21and very strong

01:03:22but it does have

01:03:23a fatal flaw

01:03:24We use these

01:03:26long mono traces

01:03:28for protection

01:03:30of the braid

01:03:30and the skin

01:03:31is like

01:03:32very rough sun paper

01:03:34So if the skin

01:03:35touches that

01:03:36then it just goes

01:03:37Yeah, immediately

01:03:37In the old days

01:03:41when they were fishing

01:03:41them

01:03:42they used really

01:03:43rotten bait

01:03:44I don't really like that

01:03:45No

01:03:45more

01:03:47lying like 24 hours

01:03:49without ice

01:03:50so they

01:03:51get a bit smelly

01:03:53I get to work

01:03:56on the other

01:03:57three lines

01:03:58while Frederick

01:03:59checks our position

01:03:59with first mate

01:04:00Willem

01:04:01But already

01:04:03there's a problem

01:04:04We've actually

01:04:05drifted out of position

01:04:06the anchor

01:04:07has dragged

01:04:08so we're going

01:04:09through the whole

01:04:09process again

01:04:10It's taken an hour

01:04:15of manoeuvring

01:04:16but half a mile

01:04:17of anchor line

01:04:18now has to come in

01:04:19before the boat's

01:04:21repositioned

01:04:22and it's thrown out

01:04:23again

01:04:24We've baited up the lines

01:04:35and what we're going

01:04:35to do now

01:04:35is just check

01:04:36that we're

01:04:37not drifting

01:04:38and then

01:04:39we'll just put them

01:04:40all down

01:04:41If we're lucky

01:04:43we'll stay here

01:04:44we won't have to re-anchor

01:04:45This is the deepest

01:04:54I've ever

01:04:55fished a bait

01:04:56there will be

01:04:57between a quarter

01:04:58and half a mile

01:04:59of line out

01:05:00when this hits

01:05:01the bottom

01:05:01and then

01:05:03well

01:05:04bringing the bait up

01:05:05to check it

01:05:06is going to be

01:05:07fairly physical

01:05:08and then bringing

01:05:08a large fish up

01:05:09from this kind of

01:05:10depth as well

01:05:10it's not something

01:05:11I've experienced

01:05:11before

01:05:12My lines are

01:05:16descending

01:05:16into a vast

01:05:17hidden landscape

01:05:18like a submerged

01:05:19grand canyon

01:05:20but Frederick's sonar

01:05:22can't reveal

01:05:23any sharks

01:05:24prowling down there

01:05:25they're too deep

01:05:27and their bodies

01:05:28are too dense

01:05:28to be distinguished

01:05:29from the bottom

01:05:30of the abyss

01:05:30in which they're hunting

01:05:31So we've got all

01:05:38the lines out now

01:05:39it's just a question

01:05:40of waiting

01:05:40and keeping

01:05:41an eye

01:05:42on the rods

01:05:43and what they're

01:05:44doing is

01:05:44they're moving

01:05:45but that movement

01:05:46is fitting

01:05:48the movement

01:05:49of the boat

01:05:49and what we're

01:05:50looking for

01:05:50is a movement

01:05:51that is somehow

01:05:53wrong

01:05:53it doesn't fit

01:05:54the movement

01:05:54of the boat

01:05:55either it bends

01:05:55at the wrong time

01:05:56or maybe even

01:05:57straightens

01:05:57or possibly

01:05:59if something

01:05:59picks up the bait

01:06:00and really steams

01:06:01off with it

01:06:01we're going to

01:06:02hear it

01:06:02it's going to

01:06:03actually take

01:06:03line off the reel

01:06:04and the clicker's

01:06:05on here

01:06:05so that will

01:06:05alert us

01:06:06audibly

01:06:07but it's basically

01:06:08just watching

01:06:08the rod tops

01:06:10now

01:06:10the sun

01:06:14might be shining

01:06:15but the temperature

01:06:16is near zero

01:06:17as we wait

01:06:18for a sign

01:06:19after two hours

01:06:26we bring all

01:06:27the lines up

01:06:28to check the baits

01:06:29between the four rods

01:06:32that's almost

01:06:32a mile and a half

01:06:33of line

01:06:34carrying 20 pounds

01:06:35of metal weights

01:06:36reeled in by hand

01:06:38my whole arm

01:06:39is burning

01:06:40I've now been

01:06:42winding this

01:06:42for 20 minutes

01:06:43no fish on the end

01:06:45here

01:06:45this is just

01:06:45the lead

01:06:46and what's left

01:06:48of the bait

01:06:48so that's

01:06:49a harder fight

01:06:50with this

01:06:51than with many

01:06:52live fish

01:06:54that I've caught

01:06:55right

01:07:05that's why

01:07:06we have to

01:07:07check

01:07:07the baits

01:07:08periodically

01:07:08because

01:07:09they just get

01:07:10chewed by

01:07:10smaller fish

01:07:11there's a possibility

01:07:12a shark

01:07:12could take that

01:07:13but I mean

01:07:13that's

01:07:14not a very

01:07:15effective

01:07:15appetising bait

01:07:16so that's

01:07:18why I spend

01:07:1825 minutes

01:07:19bringing them

01:07:20up to have

01:07:21a look

01:07:21all the hooks

01:07:28have to be

01:07:29rebaited

01:07:29and the lines

01:07:32reset

01:07:332,000 feet

01:07:35below

01:07:35despite the

01:07:40extraordinary

01:07:41distance between

01:07:42rod tip and

01:07:43bait

01:07:43the line

01:07:44is surprisingly

01:07:45sensitive

01:07:45that is now

01:07:47on the bottom

01:07:47I can actually

01:07:48feel

01:07:48when that line

01:07:51tightens to

01:07:52the lead

01:07:52just take up

01:07:53a tiny bit

01:07:54of slack

01:07:54that's ready

01:07:59with every line

01:08:03finely tuned

01:08:04the wait

01:08:08begins again

01:08:09hmm

01:08:21that's interesting

01:08:22oh wait a minute

01:08:24see that

01:08:25is there a movement

01:08:26yeah that's sort of

01:08:27pulling down

01:08:27yeah yeah

01:08:28put on the harness

01:08:29the harness

01:08:32should stop the rod

01:08:33being wrenched

01:08:34from my hands

01:08:35by a heavyweight

01:08:35giant

01:08:36there's definitely

01:08:42something there

01:08:43yeah there is

01:08:43and it feels like

01:08:45it weighs a ton

01:08:47on a freezing fjord

01:08:59in Norway

01:08:59I'm trying to

01:09:01haul up a giant

01:09:01from 2,000 feet

01:09:03below

01:09:03come on

01:09:04yeah

01:09:04could this creature

01:09:08have inspired

01:09:08the legend

01:09:09of Loch Ness

01:09:10start reeling

01:09:12the other one

01:09:13the other lines

01:09:14have to come up

01:09:15before I can bring

01:09:16in the beast

01:09:17on the end

01:09:17of mine

01:09:17if they don't

01:09:20the fish could

01:09:20become tangled

01:09:21and trapped

01:09:22beneath the boat

01:09:23feels like it's

01:09:24being pulled

01:09:24around that way

01:09:25quite a bit

01:09:25that is

01:09:38that's a very big

01:09:39skate

01:09:40isn't it

01:09:40that is a Norwegian

01:09:41skate

01:09:41it's a Norwegian

01:09:42skate

01:09:42this bizarre creature

01:09:45of the fjord floor

01:09:46was first described

01:09:47here in Trondheim

01:09:48it's an extremely

01:09:50rare sight

01:09:50at the surface

01:09:51the fantastical

01:09:54imagination

01:09:54of the Nordic

01:09:55mapmakers

01:09:56now seems

01:09:57quite tame

01:09:57compared with

01:09:59the reality

01:09:59of what's down

01:10:00there

01:10:00it's a very

01:10:02impressive looking

01:10:02animal

01:10:02very strange

01:10:03looking animal

01:10:03but very rare

01:10:04as well

01:10:04apparently

01:10:04Frederick's

01:10:05saying only

01:10:05four of these

01:10:06caught on

01:10:06rod and lion

01:10:07before

01:10:07so we've got

01:10:08to remember

01:10:08we've got to

01:10:09take a tissue

01:10:09sample

01:10:09these things

01:10:11don't come

01:10:12to the light

01:10:12very often

01:10:13at all

01:10:14Frederick works

01:10:16with a scientist

01:10:17at Tromso

01:10:18University

01:10:18who collects

01:10:19all the data

01:10:20from his catches

01:10:21of sharks

01:10:22and skates

01:10:22it's the right

01:10:25colour for the

01:10:26fish that I want

01:10:26the skin underneath

01:10:29certainly has got

01:10:29that rough feel

01:10:30but it's completely

01:10:32the wrong shape

01:10:32skates are

01:10:33flattened sharks

01:10:34and this is a very

01:10:36strange looking skate

01:10:36but it's

01:10:37it's still

01:10:38not the fish

01:10:39I'm looking for

01:10:39this fish was born

01:10:42in darkness

01:10:42and may never

01:10:43have seen

01:10:44daylight before

01:10:45those eyes

01:10:46are very

01:10:47very luminous

01:10:48there can't be

01:10:49a lot of light

01:10:50down where

01:10:50this thing

01:10:51moves

01:10:51but this thing

01:10:52presumably

01:10:52manages to

01:10:53see something

01:10:53we don't want

01:10:56to overly stress

01:10:57this rare visitor

01:10:58to our world

01:10:59we have to tag it

01:11:00and measure it

01:11:00as quickly as

01:11:01possible

01:11:02125 across

01:11:03125 across

01:11:044 foot across

01:11:05by nearly 6 foot

01:11:06nose to tail

01:11:07sharks and skates

01:11:09are among the few

01:11:09fish that can survive

01:11:11being brought up

01:11:11from such depths

01:11:12they haven't evolved

01:11:14the gas filled

01:11:15swim bladders

01:11:16of other fish

01:11:16that can rupture

01:11:17on the way up

01:11:18that thing is a bit

01:11:20like an alien

01:11:21a real weird

01:11:22looking thing

01:11:23living in a weird

01:11:23environment

01:11:24some people spend

01:11:26their lives

01:11:27waiting for such

01:11:28a chance encounter

01:11:29with a monster

01:11:29both here

01:11:30and at Loch Ness

01:11:32the big Greenland

01:11:34shark still eludes me

01:11:35that thing is actually

01:11:36rarer

01:11:36where's the shark

01:11:38the baits have to be

01:11:43changed

01:11:44the lines reset

01:11:45and the hunt

01:11:46and the hunt

01:11:46goes on

01:11:47Trondheim's fjord

01:11:49is the perfect

01:11:50hideout

01:11:51sheltered in land

01:11:53but strategically

01:11:54located for access

01:11:55to the open sea

01:11:56during the second

01:11:58world war

01:11:58this fjord

01:11:59was home

01:12:00to a Nazi

01:12:00submarine base

01:12:01and the bodies

01:12:03of several giant

01:12:04squid

01:12:04have washed up

01:12:05on its shores

01:12:06clearly this

01:12:09extraordinary abyss

01:12:10is the perfect

01:12:11hiding place

01:12:12for giants

01:12:13from my point

01:12:14of view now

01:12:15I'm going into

01:12:16night time

01:12:16the temperature's

01:12:17going to dip

01:12:18but from the

01:12:19point of view

01:12:19of the shark

01:12:20it's probably

01:12:21not going to

01:12:21notice

01:12:22it's just

01:12:22perpetually dark

01:12:23perpetually cold

01:12:24down there

01:12:25but we're going

01:12:26to carry on

01:12:26fishing

01:12:27I don't know

01:12:28possibly to

01:12:29midnight

01:12:29beyond even

01:12:30but that's

01:12:31going to bring

01:12:32added challenges

01:12:33actually if we

01:12:34get a fish

01:12:34dealing with

01:12:36that at night

01:12:36time is going

01:12:37to be a bit

01:12:38more complicated

01:12:39than during

01:12:40daylight

01:12:40I can only

01:12:44guess at what

01:12:45else lives in

01:12:45the eternally

01:12:46dark depths

01:12:47beneath us

01:12:48but as the

01:12:50baits laboriously

01:12:50come up

01:12:51one by one

01:12:52to be checked

01:12:53it turns out

01:12:54that Greenland

01:12:55sharks are far

01:12:56from alone

01:12:57here we go

01:12:59this is a

01:12:59dogfish

01:13:00it wasn't

01:13:02even hooked

01:13:02this had

01:13:03its mouth

01:13:03round the

01:13:04tail end

01:13:05of a piece

01:13:05of mackerel

01:13:06and it hung

01:13:08on all the

01:13:08way up

01:13:09it's called

01:13:09a black

01:13:10mouth dogfish

01:13:10this because

01:13:11it's got

01:13:11that very

01:13:12characteristic

01:13:12black inside

01:13:14of the mouth

01:13:15the denizens

01:13:22of the deep

01:13:23targeting my

01:13:24bait are

01:13:25getting

01:13:25increasingly

01:13:26gruesome

01:13:27well there's

01:13:29definitely

01:13:30something

01:13:30feeding

01:13:30down there

01:13:31these things

01:13:32lice

01:13:33there are

01:13:35hundreds of

01:13:36species of

01:13:36sea lice

01:13:37and they feed

01:13:38on the mucus

01:13:38skin and blood

01:13:40of marine fish

01:13:41as well as being

01:13:42disgusting

01:13:43the baits just

01:13:44don't last

01:13:44you have to keep

01:13:45bringing them up

01:13:46checking them

01:13:46putting them down

01:13:47but after 14

01:13:54hours on the icy

01:13:55fjord

01:13:55seems only the

01:13:57sea lice

01:13:57are biting

01:13:58hours are turning

01:14:07into days

01:14:08and with winter

01:14:09looming ever

01:14:10closer

01:14:10my time here

01:14:12is running

01:14:12out

01:14:13strong northerly

01:14:14winds start to

01:14:15play with the

01:14:16weather in the

01:14:16fjord

01:14:17and the temperature

01:14:18now drops

01:14:19below zero

01:14:20but I must

01:14:22go on

01:14:23I've eliminated

01:14:24every other

01:14:25creature that could

01:14:25be the inspiration

01:14:26behind the Loch Ness Monster

01:14:28all that's left

01:14:29is the Greenland shark

01:14:31fishing is all about

01:14:33belief isn't it

01:14:34and they're definitely

01:14:35down there

01:14:35but it's just

01:14:38getting a bait

01:14:38in front of one

01:14:39that is what

01:14:41we're waiting for

01:14:41we're mooring

01:14:45further down the

01:14:46fjord to see

01:14:47if our luck

01:14:47improves

01:14:48I'm hoping

01:14:50the rainbow

01:14:51is a sign

01:14:52but it feels

01:14:54like the chance

01:14:55of catching

01:14:55the mother

01:14:56of all monsters

01:14:57is slipping

01:14:57through my fingers

01:14:58we're fishing

01:15:02on the edge

01:15:02of a strictly

01:15:03no-go area

01:15:04which for decades

01:15:05was used

01:15:05as a munitions dump

01:15:06Frederick has

01:15:07brought up

01:15:08hand grenades

01:15:09here before

01:15:09but now

01:15:11gale force

01:15:12winds and waves

01:15:13are dragging

01:15:14the anchor

01:15:14and us

01:15:15towards the

01:15:15danger zone

01:15:16we have to

01:15:19get all the

01:15:20lines up

01:15:20before we can

01:15:21lift the anchor

01:15:22and get out

01:15:22of the grenade

01:15:23territory

01:15:23but they're

01:15:24tangling under

01:15:25the boat

01:15:25the wind has

01:15:27built to 45 miles

01:15:29an hour

01:15:29choppers are

01:15:30scrambling to

01:15:31assist boats

01:15:31in distress

01:15:32and we've just

01:15:35lost the daylight

01:15:36right we're now

01:15:49running for shore

01:15:50because it's just

01:15:51impossible for fish

01:15:52in this water

01:15:52but on top of that

01:15:54the anchor was dragging

01:15:55it was taking us

01:15:56on top of this

01:15:58dumping area

01:15:59where there's

01:15:59old fishing boats

01:16:01ammunition

01:16:01all sorts of stuff

01:16:02down there

01:16:03imagine I had a fish

01:16:04half way up

01:16:05and the weather

01:16:06kicked off like this

01:16:06and we've just got to go

01:16:07maybe just cut the line

01:16:08but I'm just hoping

01:16:10this blows itself out

01:16:12tonight

01:16:12because at the moment

01:16:13it's just impossible

01:16:15I've come almost

01:16:184,000 miles

01:16:19in search of the truth

01:16:20behind the monster

01:16:21of Loch Ness

01:16:22I've fished depths

01:16:23of 2,000 feet

01:16:25in sub-zero temperatures

01:16:26and gale force winds

01:16:28I can't

01:16:30give up now

01:16:31the next day

01:16:57the water is calm

01:16:59but Frederick's

01:17:00heard disturbing news

01:17:02on the shipping

01:17:02forecast overnight

01:17:03this is pretty

01:17:05definitely my last

01:17:06day on the field

01:17:07the weather is changing

01:17:08wind coming in

01:17:10from the arctic

01:17:11bringing sub-zero

01:17:12temperatures

01:17:12possible force 9

01:17:14gale

01:17:14this kind of fishing

01:17:16sensitive fishing

01:17:16just isn't possible

01:17:18in that kind of rough

01:17:19weather

01:17:19so stakes are

01:17:22very very high today

01:17:23I'm so near

01:17:28yet so far

01:17:30I can almost feel

01:17:31the shark's presence

01:17:32beneath me

01:17:33but still

01:17:342,000 feet away

01:17:36like Captain Ahab

01:17:38hunting the great

01:17:39white whale

01:17:39I've become a man

01:17:41obsessed

01:17:41thinking of all those

01:17:49people on the shores

01:17:49of Loch Ness

01:17:50over the years

01:17:51staring at the water

01:17:52looking for a sign

01:17:53some kind of evidence

01:17:54of life under the surface

01:17:56well that's exactly

01:17:57what I'm doing here

01:17:58except what I'm staring at

01:17:59is the tips of these rods

01:18:00waiting for some telltale

01:18:01movement

01:18:02some clue

01:18:02as to what's living

01:18:04underneath

01:18:04but as yet

01:18:06not much more success

01:18:07than they had

01:18:08as my final hours

01:18:16melt array

01:18:17I begin to lose myself

01:18:19in the eerie whistling

01:18:20of the lines

01:18:21after fishing

01:18:26400 rod hours

01:18:28and reeling in

01:18:2950 miles of line

01:18:30is my luck

01:18:32about to change

01:18:33was it a good nod

01:18:36oh yeah

01:18:37oh yeah

01:18:37you feel some real weight now

01:18:52yes

01:18:53that is not the lead

01:18:56that is

01:18:56that's a fish

01:18:58it's my last chance

01:19:01but is it the monster

01:19:02I've come so far

01:19:04to find

01:19:05something monstrous

01:19:18has seized my bait

01:19:19that's a fish

01:19:20at the bottom

01:19:21of a freezing

01:19:222,000 foot deep

01:19:24Norwegian fjord

01:19:25it could be another

01:19:2650 yards

01:19:27it could be another

01:19:27100

01:19:27I've never had to

01:19:30haul any fish

01:19:30up such an

01:19:31extraordinary distance

01:19:32way higher than

01:19:33the Empire State Building

01:19:34there's a pulsing

01:19:37there's a very very

01:19:38sort of slow pulsing

01:19:39it's rolling

01:19:40it's rolling

01:19:41that's what you feel

01:19:42if this is a Greenland shark

01:19:45and its rough skin

01:19:46touches the braid

01:19:47the line will sever

01:19:48and I'll lose

01:19:48my last chance

01:19:50it's very important

01:19:51the other lines

01:19:52come in

01:19:53to make sure

01:19:54that we don't

01:19:55get tangled

01:19:56I think it's getting

01:19:59near the boat

01:19:59it's probably

01:20:00aware of the boat now

01:20:01I'll lose it

01:20:04I'll lose it

01:20:05I'll lose it

01:20:05in sight

01:20:05okay

01:20:06thank you

01:20:12thank you

01:20:13the Greenland shark

01:20:17it's just too big

01:20:19to bring on board

01:20:20we'd only injure it

01:20:21trying

01:20:22we'll have to tie it

01:20:23alongside

01:20:24it's a monstrous

01:20:26thing to find

01:20:26this far inland

01:20:28and to bring up

01:20:28from such a depth

01:20:29as well

01:20:29but we're just

01:20:30trying to get

01:20:30the tail rope

01:20:31on it now

01:20:31only then

01:20:33will we be able

01:20:33to get a good

01:20:34idea of its length

01:20:35and dimensions

01:20:36I mean by

01:20:36the standards

01:20:37of what normally

01:20:38lives inland

01:20:39this is huge

01:20:40this is monstrous

01:20:41Willem's record

01:20:42mean possibly

01:20:42400 pounds

01:20:43despite their

01:20:46enormous size

01:20:47they're a mystery

01:20:47to science

01:20:48we know virtually

01:20:49nothing about

01:20:50how they live

01:20:51read or hunt

01:20:52it's very hard

01:20:53to actually see

01:20:54this creature

01:20:54well

01:20:55it's night time

01:20:56but this is

01:20:58a long

01:20:58solid bodied animal

01:21:00small dorsal fin

01:21:02that's not your

01:21:03normal erect

01:21:04shark dorsal fin

01:21:06if this was actually

01:21:07at the surface

01:21:07you wouldn't see

01:21:08that characteristic

01:21:09triangle

01:21:10cutting the surface

01:21:11it'd be just

01:21:12more of a smooth

01:21:12hump

01:21:13but if I want

01:21:15to get a closer

01:21:16look

01:21:17and if the fish

01:21:18can't come to me

01:21:19in the boat

01:21:19I have to go

01:21:21to the fish

01:21:22I've no choice

01:21:26but to get

01:21:26into the freezing

01:21:27water

01:21:27with the world's

01:21:29largest predatory

01:21:30shark

01:21:31after the great

01:21:31white

01:21:32this water

01:21:33even through

01:21:34the dry suit

01:21:34and about

01:21:36five layers

01:21:36of undergarments

01:21:37it's cold

01:21:39it's cold

01:21:40and this thing

01:21:41lives in it

01:21:41all the time

01:21:42I'm not up here

01:21:43nearly half a mile

01:21:45down

01:21:46dark brown

01:21:47in colour

01:21:48if this came up

01:21:50and did break

01:21:51the surface

01:21:51you wouldn't

01:21:53actually think

01:21:53it was a shark

01:21:53you wouldn't

01:21:54know what it

01:21:54was

01:21:54it has got

01:21:55this sort of

01:21:55upturned

01:21:56boat hull

01:21:57appearance

01:21:57what a beast

01:21:58this is

01:21:59it's believed

01:22:01they'll eat

01:22:02almost anything

01:22:02they come across

01:22:03down in the

01:22:04abyssal depths

01:22:05no one yet

01:22:06knows what

01:22:06potential threat

01:22:07they pose

01:22:08to humans

01:22:08I've lost

01:22:10the part

01:22:10of the shark

01:22:10I'm a bit

01:22:11too close

01:22:12to the business

01:22:12so I'm going

01:22:12to come back

01:22:13a little bit

01:22:13I think it's

01:22:15probably getting

01:22:15close to the time

01:22:16when we should

01:22:16actually set the hook

01:22:18out and let it

01:22:18go back to the depths

01:22:19okay

01:22:20as I clamber

01:22:23out of the freezing

01:22:24fjord

01:22:25Frederick tags

01:22:26the shark

01:22:26in case it ever

01:22:27surfaces again

01:22:28good

01:22:30hooks out

01:22:30tail rope

01:22:31to go

01:22:31it's gone already

01:22:37and it just seems

01:22:38very unreal now

01:22:39that it was here

01:22:39I almost need to

01:22:41pinch myself

01:22:41that this is inland

01:22:42this is a fish

01:22:43that is huge

01:22:44by inland standards

01:22:46not just a large

01:22:47creature but a very

01:22:48very extraordinary

01:22:49creature and

01:22:50something that

01:22:50very very little

01:22:52is known about

01:22:52a lot of people

01:22:54even living around

01:22:55here no idea

01:22:56that creatures

01:22:56like that

01:22:57are almost right

01:22:59under their noses

01:23:00but could this

01:23:06mysterious giant

01:23:07be the creature

01:23:08behind the legend

01:23:09of Loch Ness

01:23:10I've considered

01:23:11the contenders

01:23:12from whales

01:23:14and dolphins

01:23:14to seals

01:23:16and sturgeon

01:23:17and even

01:23:18plesiosaurs

01:23:19but one by one

01:23:21I've had to

01:23:22dismiss them all

01:23:23but in Iceland

01:23:25the home of the

01:23:26Vikings monster

01:23:27myths

01:23:27I came across

01:23:28a real contender

01:23:29it also means

01:23:32the one

01:23:33that ultimately

01:23:34led me to

01:23:35the one

01:23:36the Greenland shark

01:23:37in this abyssal

01:23:38fjord in Norway

01:23:39but what I'm

01:23:40realising now

01:23:41is just how

01:23:42special that

01:23:43encounter was

01:23:44to see that

01:23:45creature

01:23:45rise from the

01:23:47depths on the

01:23:47end of my line

01:23:48I've seen this

01:23:49thing myself

01:23:50I know it

01:23:51exists

01:23:51and I believe

01:23:53it could have

01:23:53inspired some

01:23:54of the monster

01:23:55stories that the

01:23:56Vikings passed

01:23:57between generations

01:23:58and across the

01:24:00lands they

01:24:00conquered

01:24:00from experience

01:24:05I've learned

01:24:06that many legends

01:24:07hold a grain of

01:24:08truth

01:24:08and I'm now

01:24:10wondering whether

01:24:11not just the myth

01:24:12but the animal

01:24:13itself

01:24:13ever surfaced

01:24:15in Loch Ness

01:24:16my journey

01:24:18has led me

01:24:19to a remarkable

01:24:20immense predator

01:24:22that is so

01:24:22secretive

01:24:23that we know

01:24:24almost nothing

01:24:25about it

01:24:25but what we do

01:24:26know is that

01:24:27it lives in

01:24:28exactly the right

01:24:28part of the

01:24:29world

01:24:29where it hunts

01:24:30in almost

01:24:31unimaginably

01:24:32deep

01:24:32dark

01:24:33and cold

01:24:34water

01:24:34but on rare

01:24:35occasions

01:24:36it's also known

01:24:36to rise up

01:24:37near the surface

01:24:38and if you

01:24:41were one of

01:24:41the very few

01:24:42people to

01:24:43witness this

01:24:43creature in the

01:24:44flesh

01:24:44you'd have no

01:24:45doubt that

01:24:46you'd seen a

01:24:47monster

01:24:47perhaps even

01:24:49the ultimate

01:24:50river monster

01:24:51the legend

01:24:52of legends

01:24:53but who would

01:24:54believe you

01:24:54watch how to

01:24:59catch a river

01:25:00monster

01:25:00my short form

01:25:01fishing series

01:25:02on animal

01:25:02planet.com

01:25:04you

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