9-foot shark washes up on Oregon coast beach

MANZANITA BEACH, Oregon — A 9-foot female thresher shark was discovered after it washed up on a beach on the Oregon coast on Wednesday.

Nehalem Bay State Park officials said the shark was still alive when it washed up, so they contacted an aquarium in the nearby town of Seaside.

The shark died shortly after, according to a news release.

The aquarium said it often recovers dead sharks that wash ashore to give local students educational opportunities, such as performing necropsies.

Thresher sharks typically grow to a maximum of 20 feet, averaging about 18 feet. The shark found Wednesday was somewhere between 4 and 5 years old, officials said. They said it's not known how she died.

Thresher sharks are native to the Oregon coast but are most commonly found around the California coastline. In summer and spring, the sharks congregate to the shore to feed on small fish.

This is the first shark to wash ashore in over 10 years, officials said.

In the last few weeks, officials said humpback whales have also been seen close to the shore off the Washington coast and in the mouth of the Columbia River.

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