Another great white shark washes ashore in Canada — the 4th in 9 months, experts say

Something strange is happening in waters off eastern Canada and it’s killing sharks.

The latest incident was reported Monday, Aug. 7, and the male shark was still alive when it appeared on Greenwich Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, according to the Marine Animal Response Society in Nova Scotia.

“Unfortunately, the animal passed,” the society wrote in an Aug. 8 Facebook post. “Incidents involving endangered white sharks are usually very rare in the Maritimes (eastern provinces). However, this is the fourth animal in 9 months to have been reported ashore.”

A cause remains vague.

The 9-foot shark found Monday was taken for a necropsy — animal autopsy — and found to be “in good overall body condition with no evidence of significant trauma.”

“Additional tests will be done to try to determine its cause of death,” the society said. “It’s very important these animals have been necropsied and that valuable research samples were able to be collected.”

Details of the other three white sharks were not noted in the post, but the society reported in July an 8-foot shark washed ashore near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.

A sample was collected, but it wasn’t clear what killed it, officials said at the time.

“Although a common shark species in our waters, it is incredibly rare to receive reports of them washing ashore,” the society said.

White sharks are known to migrate up the East Coast into the North Atlantic for summer, looking for cooler waters and seals, a favorite prey.

In the winter, they travel south, to the tip of Florida and Gulf of Mexico, according to research conducted by OCEARCH. It’s suspected they may mate off North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 2:34 PM.