A great white shark has been found dead off the east coast of Haida Gwaii. According to reports, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was notified and investigated and found that the great white shark was a male measuring 4 metres in length and had a seal in its intestines, which was its prey. DFO said it was taking samples to determine the cause of death.
Great white sharks, which prefer warmer waters, are rarely spotted in British Columbia but have been spotted in the Gulf of Alaska before. A study by the University of British Columbia’s Marine and Fisheries Institute predicts that unless greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced, water temperatures in British Columbia’s waters will rise by about 1.5 degrees by 2050.
DFO has said it believes that incidents like this one with the great white shark could become more common because of global warming. DFO says there are 16 species of sharks off the coast of British Columbia, including the great white, but that the shark is not a “fearsome creature” as many have said it is, and rarely poses a threat to humans.