Beached Shark Towed Away In NC

Here's the story from WECT News 6:

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WECT) - A late night beach visitor to Carolina Beach got the attention of police and a local tow truck company. Some people are upset that not enough was done to try and save the shark.

An 8 foot Sand Tiger Shark washed ashore on Carolina Beach around 11:30 Monday night. 

Police were on the scene for crowd control only. They did not call for an expert from the aquarium to come and get the shark. Instead, they called a tow truck to come pick it up.

15-year-old Evan Pye said he and several others tried to save the shark, but it kept turning on its back. He also told us that police were yelling at him and others to stay away.

Paul Barrington, with the aquarium at Fort Fisher, says it's likely the shark was going to die even if an aquarium official were to come out to the beach. He says once a shark has beached itself, it only takes about ten minutes before the shark dies. According to Pye, the shark was still alive, even when a tow truck transported the fish to the town's maintenance yard.

Barrington believes the shark was suffering from trauma around its mouth. It's likely the shark was reeled in recently by a fisherman, and after the fight, it lost all of its energy.