Courtesy Marine Animal Response Society (Facebook)
An 800-pound shark was found dead off the coast of eastern New Brunswick last week.
The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) says the 4.5-metre female thresher shark accidentally got caught in fishing gear in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
With help from local fishers in the Richibucto area and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Nova Scotia-based charitable organization was able to acquire the big fish to learn more about the species.
MARS says the magnificent fish, characterized by an extremely large upper caudal tail fin that it uses to stun prey, was collected so valuable biological and diagnostic samples could be obtained.
The organizations adds thresher sharks are not that common in this region but are considered a seasonal visitor to Atlantic Canadian waters.
