Rare 14ft smalltooth sand tiger shark found on Wexford shore

A 14ft-long smalltooth sand tiger shark washed up at Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford on Saturday.

Scientists believe this is the first official record of the species being found in Ireland’s waters.

The smalltooth sand tiger shark, scientifically called Odontaspis ferox, is a species rarely encountered by humans as it is normally found in water more than 100m deep.

Shark biologist Dr Nicholas Payne, an assistant professor in Trinity College Dublin’s (TCD) school of natural sciences, “could not believe it” when he received an email from a Swiss tourist who discovered the shark while walking on Saturday.

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“As soon as I saw the photos he sent, I knew we had to get down there urgently to sample this rare animal,” Dr Payne said.

The shark species are found in several locations in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. The species was thought to be distributed only as far north as the Bay of Biscay in the eastern Atlantic.

A team from TCD, including postdoctoral researcher Jenny Bortoluzzi and PhD candidate Haley Dolton and accompanied by University College Dublin scientist Kevin Purves, travelled to Wexford to take as many measurements and samples as possible before the tide came in.

We will now do a number of tests to try to learn what might have caused this to happen, and also to learn more about this species in general

—  Dr Nicholas Payne

The team hoped to learn about the biology of the uncommon animal and hopefully learn why it died.

“Unfortunately, another of this species washed up on the south English coast just two weeks ago; we all thought that was very strange at the time given the northerly location, but to see a second one here so soon after is a little concerning,” Dr Payne added.

“We will now do a number of tests to try to learn what might have caused this to happen and also to learn more about this species in general.”

Smalltooth sand tiger sharks pose no risks to people and are assessed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

While they are not specifically targeted by commercial fisheries, they may face threats such as bycatch or pollution.

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The maximum recorded size for females of the species is about 15ft, putting the female Irish specimen that washed up on the shore in Wexford at the upper end of their size limits.

“We are very excited to have taken so many great quality samples from this particular rare specimen, as this information will be invaluable to increasing our knowledge of the species’ biology and ecology through numerous national and international collaborations,” said Dr Bortoluzzi, who helped with the dissection.

“It is also wonderful that a member of the public contacted us because it shows increasing awareness and we hope this encourages more people to get in touch in the future, should they come across something similar.”