Four-metre-long Great White Shark washes up on B.C. beach

By The Canadian Press on October 11, 2024.

This photo provided by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shows a Great White Shark. A four-metre-long Great White Shark has washed up on a British Columbia beach. (Atlantic White Shark Conservancy via AP)

A four-metre-long Great White Shark has washed up on a British Columbia beach.

The Fisheries Department says their scientists confirmed the species by analyzing its tooth shape and the shape of its tail fin.

The department says in a statement the male shark, which was found on a Haida Gwaii beach, had been feeding on seals, a common prey for great whites.

The statement says the sharks are rare in B.C. waters, but sightings are not unheard of and they can be found from the Gulf of California up to the Gulf of Alaska and in B.C.’s outer coastal waters.

The department says that many people believe they’ve seen a great white in B.C. waters, but it usually turns out to be a salmon shark, a close relative to the great white.

Because of climate change, the statement says, those out on B.C. waters can expect to see more great whites in the area in the coming decades.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.