Scientists stumped by death of great white shark that washed ashore in N.B.

Maritime scientists descended on a New Brunswick beach recently where a great white shark had washed on shore, and now they're trying to figure out why the seemingly healthy fish died.

Warren Joyce, an Aquatic Fisheries Technician with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says it's rare for them to wash up in the region.

"It doesn't happen often and in my career in the past 23 years this is only the third case I've heard of a white shark washing up in Atlantic Canada,” Joyce said. “We had one back in 2015 that washed up by Parrsboro and one just a year or two ago that washed up in the Bay of Fundy on the New Brunswick side."

It's estimated the mature male shark that washed ashore in in Pointe-Sapin, N.B., Sunday was between 22 and 25 years old, but the cause of death is still a mystery.

This shark was found on a beach in Pointe-Sapin, N.B., on Oct. 16, 2022. (Source: Pierrette Landry/ORS Shark Science Requins)

"We're not trained pathologists, but we did try to look in as much detail as possible the animal,” said Danielle Pinder, with the Marine Animal Response Society. “Everything appeared fairly normal from what we observed.”

Both Dartmouth-based scientists, and their teams, travelled to Kouchibouguac National Park to study the shark carcass.

"We didn't find any evidence of it being caught in fishing gear, any evidence of like a boat strike or anything like that,” Joyce said. “After talking with one of my colleagues down off Cape Cod, he suggested it might have been hunting too close to the shallows and got washed up with the tide, but otherwise we're not really sure.”

At 11.3 feet long, and estimated to be nearly 900 pounds, it isn't exactly a small specimen.

Researchers hope to learn all they can from the deceased predator.

A scientist inspects a shark that was found in Pointe-Sapin, N.B., on Oct. 16, 2022. (Source: Pierrette Landry/ORS Shark Science Requins)

"It's so important to not only access the carcass, but really be able to get inside and do a wide set of sampling for later diagnostic,” Pinder said.

Great white sharks are endangered and are protected by the Species at Risk Act in Canada.

"Under that, act it's illegal to harm, harass or try to catch one of these animals,” Joyce said. “Even if one, like this case, washes ashore it's still illegal to physically touch the animal without a permit or to take any parts of the animal.”

If people who encounter stranded or distressed marine life can contact the Marine Animal Response Society.