The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Arbroath shark preserved by museum
Porbeagle hailed as ‘important addition’ by National Museums Scotland
A six-foot shark washed up on an Angus beach has been acquired by National Museums Scotland.
The gruesome discovery was made at West Links beach, Arbroath, on Sunday.
Concerned residents contacted Angus Council when the bloodied porbeagle shark, believed to have been struck by a vessel, was washed ashore.
Weighing 70 kilos, it was removed on Monday by staff from Scotland’s Rural College. Tests have since been carried out on the remains by experts at the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS).
A spokesman for the SRUC confirmed the unusual sighting was a male porbeagle shark, measuring 214cm long.
“Teeth, muscle, skin and liver samples have been collected for analysis by SMASS (part of Scotland’s Rural College), and the carcase has now been removed by National Museums Scotland and will be preserved,” the spokesman added.
Nick Davison, the college’s strandings co-ordinator, said the porbeagle is a protected species.
“We have only been recording basking sharks in the last couple of years and in that time we’ve only had one other in December 2016,” he said.
“It is believed it has been in an accident and the animal has been discarded from a vessel before washing ashore.
“We received various calls from the public regarding the discovery.”
The porbeagle is one of only three species found in or around the British waters and is known to swim both close to shore as well as near the open ocean. It is fast and highly active.
A spokesman for National Museums Scotland confirmed it had acquired the shark, which will be preserved in its research collections. “There are no plans to display it,” the spokesman said.
“These sharks normally occur in Scottish waters so they are not rare per se, but finding a large one in good condition is rare, so it is an important addition to our collections.”