Wirral: Huge shark washes up on New Brighton beach

This morning (Friday, January 5) the Coastguard alerted the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) to the sighting of the decomposed sea creature on the shores.

Chris Cureton, North-West co-ordinator for BDMLR, attended the scene to identify the animal.

A basking shark was found washed up on New Brighton beach (Image: Chris Cureton)

He told the Globe: “I went down this morning to identify it and it’s definitely a basking shark.

“The dead giveaway was its second dorsal fin, the head is pretty decomposed but there is no sign of a recognisable toothed shark jaw. The tale of the animal is full of bones whereas if it was a whale it would have been flesh.”

What is a basking shark?

The basking shark is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach 7.9 m in length.

Basking sharks are found in British coastal waters between May and October. They migrate south as far as North Africa during the winter months, although some animals remain in British and Irish waters.

Chris said the shark weighed around a tonne and a half and measured around six metres.

Chris added: “It’s quite a big animal and looking at the condition it’s in it’s definitely been dead for a while.

The shark weighed around a tonne and a half and measured around six metres (Image: Chris Cureton)

“It’s interesting to see. We do get basking sharks in the Irish Sea but I’ve personally never seen one wash up on the banks of the Mersey before.

“It might not have died near the Mersey but it might be something to do with the storms we’ve had which may have brought it in.”

A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: "The council has been made aware of this and members of the Parks and Countryside team are attending to assess the best way to remove it."