Overview
- The 14-foot female great hammerhead was first seen in the surf around 3 a.m. and then washed fully ashore about 1:20 p.m. on Sunday, and responders found the animal already dead when they recovered it.
- Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue, the fire department, and the police department worked together to bring the large shark onto the beach so volunteers could handle it safely.
- The North Carolina Shark Conservancy reported a deep laceration through the base of the tail and fresh puncture wounds in the mouth that are consistent with fishing gear but said investigators could not definitively determine the cause of death.
- Conservancy volunteers took measurements, photographs and biological and genetic samples for research and education before local officials disposed of the carcass.
- Great hammerheads are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, and the samples could help scientists monitor population health and the role of fishing gear and bycatch in regional shark mortality.