Overview
- Holidaymaker Joy Peacock discovered the shark alive on St Ninian's beach in Shetland before it later died.
- Shetland Wildlife confirmed the animal was a blue shark and said an attempt to re-float it was unsuccessful.
- The organisation reported this is the first blue shark they have encountered in Shetland and that its local status is poorly understood.
- Blue sharks are more commonly recorded in warmer waters off Cornwall and South Wales during summer, and the stranded specimen measured about nine feet.
- For safety context, the Shark Trust reports no unprovoked shark bites in British waters since 1847, though a participant on a 2022 organised tour off Cornwall was bitten.