A HUGE shark has washed up on a popular British beach, prompting a warning from marine experts.
Shark A large shark, which appears to be about 24 feet long, was seen in Ayrshire with a rope looped through its mouth and around its tail.
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The giant shark is about 24 feet long Credit: JamPress
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It is the second largest fish in our oceansCredit: JamPress
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Beachgoers were stunned by the sight, but the shark was sadly dead Credit: JamPress
Shark The great shark, sometimes known as “Toothless Bruce”, is the second largest fish in our oceans.
At first it was thought to be a whale, until Yolanda McCall from Ayrshire, Scotland contacted the British Marine Diver Rescue Team (BDLMR) and the Marine Animal Stranding Program Scotland (SMASS).
A huge shark was sadly pronounced dead at the scene at Maidens Beach on Sunday night.
Yolanda said: “He was caught in a long loop of rope, in his mouth and caught around his tail.
“The creature was swaying in the water and we couldn’t tell if it was dead or alive.
“I wanted to try to help him, if he was alive and struggling, so I put on a diving suit and went into the water to check.
“Unfortunately, it was dead, but it looked very complete, a recent death. Maybe it got tired trying to break free.”
Footage of the sighting was also posted online by Ellie MacLennan, who is doing her PhD focusing on the entanglement of marine life.
She urged the public to report sightings to the Scottish Marine Animal Destruction Scheme (SMASS).
Ms MacLennan wrote on Facebook: “[SMASS] they receive very few reports of strandings involving large sharks, but this species is known to be susceptible to entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris, although there is no way of knowing the source of this line.
“If you find a dead stranded whale, dolphin, porpoise, seal, shark or turtle please report it to @smass.scotland.
“We can learn a lot from each case, not only about why the animal died, but also how it lived, which can give insight into what’s happening in the wider marine environment and any new threats.
“Thanks to Yolanda McCall for reporting this case and allowing us to share her video.”
Ms MacLennan holds a BA (Hons) in Conservation Biology from the University of Aberdeen and an MA in International Marine Environmental Consultancy from the University of Newcastle.
She started working with SMASS in 2018 as the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) Coordinator.
Ms MacLennan said basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) are the second largest shark species in the world, growing up to 11 meters and weighing over four tonnes.
They can be found in cold and temperate waters, and seem to favor coastal waters in the spring and summer, but deeper waters during the winter, she added.
A giant 11ft shark has been spotted circling the waters around Bournemouth Harbor in stunning footage
They can dive to depths of up to 900 meters to feed on plankton, and are known to travel enormous distances.
Ms MacLennan said one was tracked to cover almost 12,000 miles in “just over two months”.
Large sharks are usually passive and generally pose no danger to humans.
The sighting comes after a huge shark was filmed floating in the waters of Bournemouth as beachgoers basked in the sun meters away.
Surfer Christian Pepin spotted the sea beast from the safety of the dock and filmed the predator lurking in the shallows.
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11ft shark spotted in Ayrshire with rope entangled in mouth Credit: Facebook/@Ellie MacLennan
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The sighting, which occurred on June 30, was posted online by Ellie MacLennanCredit: Facebook/@Ellie MacLennan
What are large sharks and how big are they?
Great sharks are the second largest species of fish, after cetaceans.
Grey-brown adults grow to an average of 20-26ft and weigh five tonnes – but can be much larger.
The largest accurately measured was caught in Canada in 1851 and weighed 16 tons.
It was 40.3 feet (12.27 m) long.
Specimens longer than 33 feet are rarely seen today as overfishing has reduced their numbers.
Great sharks have enormous mouths more than three feet wide, with jaws that spread as they feed in shallow waters close to shore.
Their babies are also huge. They are born, five or six feet long, after a gestation period thought to last from one to three years.
They are protected species from the red list, considered vulnerable worldwide and endangered in the North-East Atlantic
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Marine expert Ellie MacLennan (pictured) posted the footage onlineCredit: strandings.org
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