Shark washes up along Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore
A shark was discovered along Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) received a call about the animal in the Port Dufferin area Saturday evening. It said the animal was reported dead and appears to have been there for a few days.
MARS said it was a mako shark.
'We don't often get reports of dead or distressed makos anywhere in the Maritimes, so this is not a common occurrence,' said MARS Executive Director Tonya Wimmer in an email to CTV News.
'Makos aren't often reported in nearshore waters, though there have been some sightings over the years.'
According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), a shortfin mako shark is a 'sleek spindle shaped shark with a long conical snout' that has 'short pectoral fins and a crescent shaped caudal fin.'
DFO said makos typically live in tropical and temperate offshore waters.
'In the western Atlantic it can be found from Argentina and the Gulf of Mexico to Browns Bank, along the continental shelf of Nova Scotia and even into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In Canadian waters these sharks are not abundant as they prefer warm waters, but neither are they rare,' reads the DFO website.
DFO noted in some years, warm water conditions can bring them closer to shore.
'In 2002 for example, several makos were caught during blue shark fishing derbies and as part of recreational shark fishing trips about [16 kilometres] outside of Halifax Harbour. However, no makos have been observed within [1.6 kilometres] of shore.'
At this time, it is not known what caused this shark to wash ashore in Nova Scotia.
MARS said it has documented and sampled the animal, and it will be disposed of locally.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Southern Alberta wildlife team played a key role at the G7 Summit
As the 2025 G7 Leaders Summit took place in Kananaskis, a team was working behind the scenes to keep animals at bay. Quinn Keenan reports.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration sees large youth turnout
WATCH: Although the official day is on Saturday, there were multiple events on Friday to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day. Damian Smith has more. While National Indigenous Peoples Day is on Saturday, several events were held in Regina on Friday for residents to celebrate the heritage, cultures, and achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. A big theme of this year's gathering was the education of youth and children, and for them to see Indigenous culture at an early age before learning in later grade school years. 'It's such an important day to be celebrating,' Minister of Parks, Culture, and Sport Alana Ross said. 'Having the children here from the schools, the interaction, giving them the opportunity to learn about art history and the importance of it and the interactive games, that they have was just amazing.' For Mother Teresa Middle School, educators who are Indigenous know that days like Friday are needed for representation and inclusion. 'Our students can see themselves in me,' said Evan Whitestar, who is an Indigenous advocate at the school. 'So, it makes it easier for them to come to the school and work. Education has had a tough history in Canada and that's a good way to mend the bridge and have some representation in the hallway.' The Buffalo Boys from Mother Theresa Middle School, along with youth dancers, performed a powwow dance at the event. For the second stop of the day, children spent some time at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, practicing the culture by taking part in making friendship bracelets, bison hunting and atlatl throwing. 'The younger we can learn it and the more we can expose our children to that, the better we will be as a culture and as a society,' Ross said. 'It's just wonderful to see the teachers who have taken the time, because it's a lot of work to bring your students here.' To many attending, Friday's edition of National Indigenous Peoples Day felt like the largest gathering that they had ever been a part of in Regina's history. There are a few more events planned elsewhere in the province on Saturday.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
Here are the stories we're working on for CTV News at 6 on June 20
Barrie Watch Here are the stories we're working on for CTV News at 6 on Fri. June 20.
