Source : Perth Now news
Hundreds of dead sharks and other fish have been discovered on beaches in Wales.
Pauline Morris, a 65-year-old nurse at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, in Mountain Ash, has revealed that she found a full net when she was out walking her dogs at Carmarthenshire’s Pembrey Beach over the weekend, and Pauline admits that it was “horrible to see”.
Speaking to the BBC, she shared: “It was over a quite big area – with fish and sharks held in a big net.
“I don’t know whether they came loose from a trawler or whether they were thrown [away] because it was not what they wanted.”
An officer at Natural Resources Wales (NRW) subsequently visited the beach, but didn’t see any dead sharks or other fish, suggesting that they’d been washed back into the sea.
A spokesperson for the NRW said: “We investigated reports of dead fish at Saundersfoot and found no evidence of a pollution incident.
“The fish appear to be dogfish, and this is likely linked to fishing by-catch being discarded at sea.
“Tides have since cleared the majority from the shoreline and no wider environmental impacts were identified.
“We have informed the local authority and relevant partners.”
Elsewhere, Cliff Benson, the Sea Trust Wales founder, has suggested that many of the fish were catshark.
Benson actually referred the situation to the NRW after coming across the story on social media.
He said: “It could have been from a trawler.”
The story came to the fore shortly after a photographer was bitten by a “shark or a sea lion” during the finals for a World Surf League (WSL) competition in New Zealand.
Ed Sloane was treated for puncture wounds on his ankle after the bite, but is now in a stable condition.
Renato Hickel, WSL tours and competition vice president, told the event broadcast: “This morning one of the water photography team suffered a wildlife injury.
“At this stage, we’re not certain if it was a shark or a sea lion. The doctor that was here helping on the scene was inclined to think it was a sea lion instead of a shark.
“Nevertheless, very scary.”
