Fisherman finds rare lost Lego Shark

Richard West, a fisherman from Plymouth, England, has made an extraordinary find at sea—a Lego shark lost 27 years ago from a cargo ship.

West, 35, was fishing 20 miles south of Penzance when he discovered the toy shark tangled in his nets. This plastic shark is one of 51,800 lost at sea from the Tokio Express cargo ship on February 13, 1997. The ship was hit by a huge wave near Land’s End, causing 62 containers to fall overboard, including one with over 4 million Lego pieces.

While fishing on his boat, the Defiant FY848, West, who fishes for monkfish, sole, and dory, instantly recognised the Lego shark from his childhood. “It’s been 25 years since I’ve seen that face,” he said, recalling how much he loved the Lego shark from the pirate ship set. He reached out to Tracey Williams, founder of the Lego Lost at Sea project, who confirmed it was the first-ever reported find of a Lego shark from the famous spill.

Ms. Williams explained that there were 22,200 dark grey and 29,600 light grey Lego sharks in the lost cargo. Excited about the discovery, West exclaimed, “It’s priceless—it’s treasure!” Now, he and Williams share custody of the shark. These Lego sharks were part of several sets from 1997, such as Shark Cage Cove, Shark Attack, and Deep Sea Bounty.

The Lego Lost at Sea project encourages anyone who finds Lego pieces from the spill to contact them. The project is mapping sightings for a scientific paper about the Lego spill’s impact. Recently, Lego pieces from the lost container have been discovered in various places, including Cornwall, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Wales, and Ireland.