Stranded Shark Dies After Washing Up on Massachusetts Beach

Anne Thompson

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A shark that ended up stranded on a Massachusetts beach has died, according to a scientist who studies the animals. In a video shared by shark biologist John Chisholm Tuesday on Twitter, a porbeagle shark could be seen close to the shore of Sagamore Beach, near Bourne, in Cape Cod. The post read: "Yesterday afternoon @NECWA alerted me to a stranded porbeagle shark off Sagamore Beach. When I arrived it was still alive and a good Samaritan moved it into deeper water but clearly it was not well. Unfortunately, it didn't last the night and washed up at low tide." Chisholm told Newsweek the porbeagle is common in the sea off Massachusetts.

shark close to the Cape Cod shore — This image from a video shared by shark biologist John Chisholm shows a porbeagle shark that was left stranded in the waters off the coast of Massachusetts. It was later found dead after it washed... John Chisholm

"It's a common species in Massachusetts waters and each year we see a few stranded like this. If it was healthy it would not be so close to shore," Chisholm said. "We're doing a necropsy in the shark to see if we can determine what the cause of death was. There were no obvious signs of trauma." Images shared on Chisholm's Twitter page showed several people pulling the shark away so it could be studied further. Since being shared on Tuesday, the post has been viewed 11,200 times. A necropsy of the shark done by Dr. Michelle Passerotti on Wednesday found that it had been ill before its death. Tissue samples were taken from the shark to determine more about what killed it. According to The Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the porbeagle is in the Lamnidae shark family, which makes it one of the closest living relatives of the great white shark.

Researchers taking shark away — A group of researchers took the deceased shark away from the beach and brought it to a lab to be studied. A necropsy found that the shark was ill before its death, but more research... John Chisholm

A porbeagle shark can grow to 11 feet 11 inches in length, can weigh up to 507 pounds, and can live over 50 years. "The porbeagle shark is a brilliant 'mackerel' blue with a white belly and characteristic white mark at the rear base of the dorsal fin," The Wildlife Trusts said on its website. "It is a robust but streamlined shark with a pointed snout and large black eyes without protective lids." The Massachusetts government said that at least a dozen shark species visit the state's coastline every coastline from May and November before typically migrating to the southeastern United States, the Gulf of Mexico and the mid-Atlantic for the winter.

A porbeagle shark died in Massachusetts. The shark was spotted in shallow waters at Sagamore Beach. JOHN CHISHOLM

"They arrive to feed in Massachusetts' nutrient-rich waters and for some species, to take advantage of potential mating opportunities," the state's government said. There have been previous cases where sharks and other sea animals have washed onto beaches across the U.S. In December, an 8-foot pregnant porbeagle shark washed up dead on a beach near Marshfield in Massachusetts. The shark was found to have four embryos inside its body and there were no obvious signs of trauma.