Thresher shark washes ashore in Washington, public necropsy performed at beach

SEASIDE, Ore. (KATU) — A large thresher shark washed up on a Washington state beach Friday, and staff with an Oregon aquarium held a public necropsy to educate beachgoers the following day.

The Seaside Aquarium said it first learned the shark washed ashore Friday night on the Long Beach Peninsula, near Ocean Park. Staff said it died shortly after they arrived at the beach.

Staff and volunteers worked to recover the shark, which weighed around 300 to 365 pounds, but they said it was too big to freeze for further research purposes.

The aquarium decided instead to hold a necropsy on the beach on Saturday afternoon, serving as a learning experience for people.

“It is not very often that we get to see these large sharks and anything we can learn or educate the public on is a great opportunity,” Seaside Aquarium said on social media.

They said 50 to 75 people showed up, asking questions of the staff members.

Most people were fascinated by the length of the shark’s tail, in which it is named after,” the aquarium said.

The thresher shark uses its long tail to "thrash" through schools of fish, stunning them, then swimming back through and eating the stunned fish.

Aquarium said the research will hopefully help them understand why the sharks are washing ashore, adding they can rule out any interactions with fisheries.