Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) researchers believe bizarre looking fish species caught in deep sea far off Townsville could be the first of their kind to be documented in Australian waters.

Townsville based long-line fisherman Warren Williams enlisted the expertise of AIMS scientists after hauling three unidentified fish species and a weird looking shark he thought was the missing link between shark and fish.

AIMS fish researcher Mike Cappo said after wide consultation it seems at least one of the fish has never been recorded in Australia.

"I have matched the fish to species in Japanese and South African text books. Although the fish we have here are up to three times bigger than those documented overseas," Mr Cappo said.

"One of the fish we believe is a Pacific Drift fish never recorded in Australia. A Tang snapper is thought to be another of the fish documented only in Western Australia, never before recorded in Queensland, and the third fish could be a Pacific Beard fish. At 60 centimetres long, it’s more than three times bigger than maximum lengths reported previously," he said.

It is the strange looking shark caught by Mr Williams that has intrigued and fascinated AIMS researchers. Characterised by its old-man like face and body like a cargo plane, scientists believe it is a Prickly shark, known in Australia only from a few recorded in Victoria.

"All of these fish are found in extremely deep water, we’re talking 500 metres deep, sometimes in submarine canyons. Tropical deep water research is very limited in Australia so we rely on people like Warren Williams to donate his unusual catches to science," Mr Cappo said.

Mr Cappo said the discovery suggests the existence of a Pacific-wide tropical deep water fish ecosystem on the continental slope of Australia.

The frozen fish samples will be sent down to shark and fish experts from the CSIRO in Hobart and to Museums for positive identification.