WILMINGTON, N.C. — Coastal Management at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says that last week more than 50 dead sharks were found on Masonboro Island Reserve off the coast of the state near Wilmington.
The agency said that on the night of September 11, tourists saw between 50 and 100 dead sharks on the back side of the island. NCDEQ staff went to Masonboro Island the next morning to look into the story. At the water’s edge, they found the bodies of 51 Atlantic sharpnose sharks.
Officials from the state said the animals, which were between 14 and 21 inches long, didn’t look hurt, and no fishing gear was found nearby. A spokesman for the agency said that they did “appear to have been bleeding from their gills and mouths.”
Even though the circumstances are strange, state officials say they are not investigating the case and “a cause of death will likely not be determined.”
If people in the state see hurt, stranded, or dead sea animals on the shore, NCDEQ officials say they should do one of the following:
- If on a North Carolina Coast Reserve property, call the site manager
- If there is a fisheries concern, call the Division of Marine Fisheries at (800) 682-2632
- If it is a marine animal, call the Marine Mammal Stranding program at (910) 515-7354
- If it is a sea turtle, call the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission at (252) 241-7367