Basking sharks, while large, are not considered a risk to humans. Author: Gabrielle Mannino (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 4:29 PM CST January 5, 2021 Updated: 10:43 AM CST January 6, 2021
BREMEN, MAINE, Maine A 26-foot male basking shark washed up on the shore of Greenland Cove in Bremen Tuesday morning, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) tells NEWS CENTER Maine.
DMR Science Bureau staff and Marine Patrol arrived on scene around 9:30 a.m. after being notified by local fishermen. There is no known cause of death at this time.
DMR staff took samples of the shark, which they say will be used to conduct dietary, aging, and genetic analysis. DMR spokesperson Jeff Nichols says the Department has recently joined in a collaborative research effort known as the New England White Shark Research Consortium to study white sharks and will be working with members of the Consortium to conduct this analysis.
Huge basking shark washes up in Bremen
The carcass will be studied as part of a New England research project, according to News Center Maine.
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This large basking shark washed up on Greenland Cove in Bremen on Tuesday morning. Photo by Tanner Fields via News Center Maine
A 26-foot male basking shark washed up on the shore of Greenland Cove in Bremen on Tuesday morning, the Maine Department of Marine Resources told News Center Maine, WCSH/WLBZ.
State scientists took samples of the animal after being notified by local fishermen. It isn’t yet known how the shark died.
January 6, 2021
The Maine Department of Marine Resources says 26-foot male basking shark yesterday (Jan. 5) washed up on the shore of Greenland Cove in Bremen.
According to News Center Maine, the basking shark is the second-largest shark in the world and the largest shark that lives in the waters off New England. Studies are being done to determine how the shark died.
Basking sharks, while large, are not considered a risk to humans. https://t.co/6G4ABmBrn9
That makes it more than four times the length of the average human male.
Images of the spectacular animal show that it has slight decay, but otherwise it is still in all its glory.
Several people took to social media to speculate on what the shark was doing - although few in the Twittersphere were taking the animals death seriously.
One person wrote: Was it Covid-19?
WATCH: A 26-foot basking shark washed up on the shore in Bremen on Tuesday. Local fishermen reported it to the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources, who took samples for research. Basking sharks, the second-largest fish in the world, are not considered a risk to humans. pic.twitter.com/WAHvoD8zTG NEWS CENTER Maine (@newscentermaine) January 5, 2021