Dozens of dead sharks

Dozens of juvenile hammerhead sharks have washed up on a Coromandel beach. At least 35 sharks have appeared, littering the shoreline at Ruamahunga Bay – an isolated spot on the Thames Coast Rd. Cagn Anderson was undertaking road works on the coast road north of Waiomu on Thursday when he made the discovery. ‘‘There’s a bank and you could see all of these sharks.’’ He took a video of the sharks and counted 36 scattered along the tidal line about 200 metres from the boat ramp. High tide came and went and the sharks remained along the rocky foreshore yesterday. Some of the sharks reached around a metre in length, he said, while others appeared to be smaller juveniles. A fisherman himself, Anderson suspects the sharks may have washed up after being dumped by a fishing outfit. ‘‘It’s isolated. You wouldn’t be able to see them driving past.’’ Anderson had reported the discovery to the Department of Conservation. A DOC spokesperson said that hammerhead sharks were not one of the shark species listed as protected under the Wildlife Act. Sphyrna zygaena, otherwise known as the hammerhead shark, is typically found in New Zealand coastal waters up to 110m deep and more commonly found in the North Island. The DOC spokesperson suggested that it may be a matter for the Ministry of Primary Industries under it fishing responsibilities. MPI is looking into the incident, she said. Niwa principal scientist Dr Malcolm Francis said the dead sharks were most likely discarded by fishermen.