A rare 14ft smalltooth sand tiger shark has washed up at Kilmore Quay in what scientists believe is the first time it has been officially recorded in Irish waters.
The shark washed up over the weekend and a Swiss tourist was first on the scene. They then emailed assistant professor of zoology Nicholas Payne at Trinity College Dublin who after seeing a picture of the discovery soon arrived on scene.
Researchers say this species of shark – is rarely encountered by humans, as it is normally found in much deeper waters offshore. Scientists have also expressed surprise at encountering the animal this far north. This type of species of sharks, which pose no risk to people, are currently assessed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Speaking to South East Radio News Assistant professor of zoology at Trinity College Dublin Dr Nicholas Payne who collected the shark from the Wexford shoreline said when they first got down to the scene there was no obvious signs of how the shark ended up there. Professor Payne explained that because another shark washed up on the UK coast two weeks ago too Scientists are really keeping a close eye on the situation. ” It’s very uncommon to see these species appear on shorelines as they are such deep water animals. To see these two animals appear so close together in a short space of time is definitely unusual”
Dr Nicholas and his colleagues have already taken most of the animal back to his lab in TCD, “we weren’t able to take the full animal on Saturday purely because it was so massive and the tide was coming in. We managed to take a lot of samples of lots of different tissues. We have already started tests to try to learn what might have happened to the animal to cause it to die and more broadly to learn more about the animal in general. It’s so unusual to encounter these animals so we don’t know much about them scientifically.”
