A 16-foot-long shark that washed up on shore at Coles Bay in North Saanich on Tuesday will soon be removed with help from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The 600-800 lb Sixgill shark was first spotted ashore on Tuesday afternoon and is still on the beach as of the time of publication.
However a recent tweet from the District of North Saanich confirms that the 5m shark is soon to be removed from the public eye.
This 5m long shark washed up on Coles Bay beach today. @NorthSaanich are working with Department of Fisheries and Oceans @DFO_Pacific to arrange removal. pic.twitter.com/2TaEhq4bie
— District of North Saanich (@NorthSaanich) February 6, 2019
A necropsy will then be conducted by the University of Victoria’s Juanes Laboratory to determine its cause of death.
According to Saanich Peninsula resident Nicole Wilford, scavengers – like minks or muskrats, she speculates – have already started to eat away at the carcass. Further speculation from other bystanders claim that the shark may have died of old age.
Blutnose sixgill sharks are listed as a species of ‘special concern’ under the Species at Risk Act. They have six long gill slits on each side, and are dark brown or grey on top, and nearly black in some specimens.
Victoria Buzz has reached out to the DFO and the District of North Saanich for further information.
