A morning stroll along a portion of the Jersey Shore took an alarming turn when a woman discovered nearly 30 dead sharks scattered across a popular beach.
The sharks, which have been identified as juvenile dogfish, were recently found in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, roughly 20 miles north of Cape May.
The discovery of so many sharks at once is a rare occurrence, shark ecologist Mike Heithaus told Fox News Digital.
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“This is definitely something that’s pretty rare, to see that many sharks washed up on the beach,” said Heithaus, dean of Florida International University’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education.
The beachgoer, Michelle Greenling, told CBS Philadelphia she found 29 dead sharks between 29th and 39th streets along the shore.
“The first couple weren’t too surprising, but when I saw three and four and five, I knew something was up,” Greenling said.
The beachgoer described the sight as “definitely concerning.”
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“I was concerned about the water. I was concerned about the sharks,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Greenling for further comment.
Heithaus told Fox News Digital that dogfish gather in large schools, meaning a group could have been affected by the same event.
While a toxin might initially appear to be one possible explanation, he said he would expect other marine species to have been affected as well.
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“The fact that there aren’t lots of other different kinds of animals washing up at the same time suggests it’s not some kind of pollution or toxin in the environment,” said Heithaus, who was not involved in the discovery or analysis.
“If I had to make a guess, probably something happened to them, and they were caught, but [they] weren’t what people were looking for, and so they got discarded.”
Heithaus said scientists are increasingly using monitoring buoys and other systems as coastal oceans change, allowing researchers to track conditions and identify potential threats.
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“We’ve learned enough that we can monitor water quality and figure out what’s going on ahead of these events happening so we can make interventions when we might have to,” he said.
“But, you know, in this case, it looks like it was probably something else.”
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Heithaus also advised beachgoers who encounter large numbers of dead marine animals to alert local authorities or wildlife officials.
Dogfish typically have a lifespan of 35 to 40 years, according to NOAA Fisheries’ website.
“Like all sharks, dogfish grow slowly, mature late in life and live a long time,” the site states.
