Fin-Removed Great White Shark Found Dead On Beach

https://twitter.com/ChrisNguyenTV/status/898645842306805765

Appalling news out of Santa Cruz. 

From KGO 7 in San Francisco:

Thursday night, a 10-foot-long juvenile female white shark was reported stranded and thrashing in the shallows at a beach near 24th St. in Live Oak, between Santa Cruz and Capitola. But by Friday morning, the shark’s first dorsal fin had been hacked off. Most of its teeth had also been removed. Both actions are against state law.

“I know that they’re worth money, but in the long run, it’s a dead animal,” says Kelsey Wollert, Boulder Creek resident. “Just leave it alone, or if anything, just give it to science.”

Local shark experts say the animal had severe cuts to its head and may have been hit by a boat propeller. For now, it’s unclear if it was already sick prior to passing, but fish and wildlife officials will conduct a necropsy in the coming days.