Updated: Great white shark washes ashore in North Myrtle Beach. SCDNR figuring how it died
Social media was abuzz Thursday morning with photos of a nearly 11-foot Great White shark that washed up on shore in North Myrtle Beach.
The shark came ashore at 10th Avenue, according to Facebook posts. Posts said there were several attempts to get it back into the ocean. The shark eventually died.
Donald Graham, North Myrtle Beach city spokesman, said by text message Thursday morning that officers were called to the scene but contacted South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The shark actually washed ashore about 10 or 10:30 p.m. Monday and was picked up by SCDNR on Tuesday, according to marine biologist Bryan Frazier. An examination was done on the shark Wednesday, but there is nothing definitive about the cause of the shark’s death, Frazier said.
He said there was no apparent hooking of the shark and there were no reports of fishing in the area. More tests will be done.
The shark is an immature female that weighs about 500 pounds and was nearly 11 feet long. It is not a shark that had been previously tagged and there were no transmitters, Frazier said.
“It is likely a shark that was unknown,” Frazier said.
According to research group OCEARCH, which tracks sharks, the shark was not one of the animals they track.
This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 9:54 AM.
