Dozens of dead sharks wash up on North Wales beach shocking locals

A “worrying” amount of dead sharks have washed up on a beach in North Wales leaving local residents in shock.

Between 25 and 30 sharks are currently scattered across the sand on Prestatyn beach in Denbighshire, and an investigation is under way to determine how they got there.

The sharks have been identified as starry smooth-hounds due to their speckled white spots. They are also known as gummy sharks because of their lack of sharp teeth and small size.

The sharks were discovered on the beach on Tuesday morning (6 June) before pictures and videos of the creatures surfaced online.

Ms Simmons, of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said she and the organisation Marine Environmental Monitoring had been attempting to work out how they washed up.

She said there had been some reports of illegal fishing in the area over the past few months but it is currently unclear if this has any connection to the washed up sharks.

She added: “What we wanted was to take samples of the gills, to see if this has happened as a result of by-catch (in fishing nets). To find one or two is normal, but so many is worrying.”

In a post on Facebook, Ms Simmons urged people to avoid touching or moving the sharks from the beach.

She is trying to collate data after there have been reports of other washed up sharks in smaller numbers along the stretch of coast between Rhyl and Talacre. Natural Resources Wales and Project Siarc have been made aware.

A marine expert from British Divers Marine Life Rescue has been at the site to take samples and an investigation is currently underway, according to NorthWalesLive.

Starry smooth-hound sharks are a small species which mainly feed crustaceans and shellfish. They measure between 100cm and 150cm and weigh up to 4.8kg.

They are a shallow water shark species, which favour sandy, shingle and light broken ground, living in coastal waters at depths of between five and 200 metres.

The species was predominantly found in the south and west of the British Isles but it is now more widespread with reports of increasing numbers from the coastlines of Cumbria, Yorkshire and the North East.

NationalWorld has contacted the British Divers Marine Life Rescue and Natural Resources Wales for comment.