Washed up basking shark enables invaluable research to be carried out

7 metre shark washed up off Niarbyl

A dead basking shark was discovered washed up just off Niarbyl beach over the weekend.

The 7-metre shark was a male, it’s expected he was caught up in fishing nets and subsequently drowned.

It is a very rare occurrence for one of the gentle giants to wash up on Manx shores, and has given study teams a fantastic opportunity to carry out some valuable research.

Biopsies of the shark have been sent away to Aberdeen University for further analysis, all research work was overlooked by marine officials given the sharks protected species status.

Jackie Hall from the Manx Basking Shark Watch has described the finding as one of the most significant discoveries they have made.

(AUDIO ABOVE)