A large hammerhead shark just washed up on Pompano Beach. What happened to it?
An 11-foot hammerhead shark washed up in Pompano Beach on Wednesday morning.
A crew from the American Shark Conservancy in Palm Beach Gardens was called after beachgoers stumbled upon the carcass.
According to a tweet from WPLG, ASC marine biologist Hannah Medd said the shark’s age was still unknown, but close to adulthood. Average hammerheads grow to be 13 and 20 feet long, according to National Geographic, with an average life span of 25 years.
Probable cause of death: Medd found a fishing line stuck in its side. You see her in the WPLG video attempting to dig it out from an area near the gills.
Heavy equipment was brought in to remove the shark, which will undergo a necropsy.
Madeleine Marr
Miami Herald