Dead sharks & other marine life washing up along coastline

Dead marine life is washing up across the California coast, and the latest case happened just yesterday here on the Central Coast.

Around 50 sharks have washed ashore so far this year. Around lunchtime Sunday, a nearly 4ft salmon shark washed up dead near La Selva Beach. That shark has since been taken to a lab in Santa Clara to be examined.

Unfortunately, shark expert Sean Van Sommeran says that the shark’s death isn’t surprising. “It’s become an annual event, you know? It’s definitely happening more over the years than in the past and including the number of species that we weren’t seeing in the past.” Those species include leopard sharks, salmon sharks, bass and rays.

Van Sommeran says the death of the sharks is a two-part problem. The first part of the problem has affected sharks all over the California coast. A certain type of bacterial infection has killed numerous sharks. The bacteria is common among people and wildlife. The mystery is why some sharks are dying from it. The second part of the problem is believed to be linked to contaminated water near San Francisco.

Van Sommeran says, “Stuff associated with stagnant water and/or the deposition or accumulation of rotted carcuses.” These problems are raising some concern, as sharks should be living around 50 years.

There is still a lot of uncertainty about what is causing these problems. But scientists are continuing to examine the dead sharks that wash ashore to hopefully solve the problem soon.