Hammerhead Shark Carcass Washes Ashore Pompano Beach, FWC Wants To Know Why
POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) -- All kinds of strange things wash ashore South Florida beaches, but Wednesday morning, it was a dead hammerhead shark that washed ashore in Pompano Beach.
According to the Pompano Beach Fire Department, they responded to a report of the shark washing ashore near the area of 12th Avenue and 14th Street. Once they arrived, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took over the investigation.
According to the American Shark Conservancy, the female hammerhead was pregnant and lost 23 pups.
CBS4's still awaiting word from FWC on what happened may have happened to the 11-foot apex predator.
Though the American Shark Conservancy said, "This can happen when the animal is caught and released by recreational anglers, which was likely the case for this shark."
Great hammerheads, the largest kind of hammerhead shark, are one of the most familiar and fiercest carnivores to swim the Florida coastline.
Last summer, researchers at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami discovered a small section of Biscayne Bay appears to be a nursery for juvenile great hammerhead sharks, the first of its kind identified on the entire American Atlantic coast.
