Shark dies after getting caught in ghost net

A shark that was rescued from an abandoned net in Devon has died, a wildlife trust has said.

Volunteers from Clovelly Lifeboat Station were called to help after the common thresher shark was found entangled in the net - also known as a "ghost net" - on 27 November.

It was released back into the sea but on 30 November it was found dead on a beach close to Clovelly Harbour.

Devon Wildlife Trust's stranding network said the 4m (13.1ft) shark was an adult female.

The trust said it attended the beach but the tide and location was against them and it was impossible to secure the 200kg animal above the tide line.

It said: "Without a post-mortem, we cannot tell for definite how the animal died, but the live stranding/entanglement is highly likely a contributing factor."

A spokesperson for the lifeboat station said: "Our volunteers were asked to assist in the release of a thresher shark that had become caught in a net.

"Struggling against an outgoing tide, they were eventually successful in returning her to the sea alive.

"Despite the sad outcome, we hope that this shows we will always do everything we can to save all lives at sea."

The trust said thresher sharks were deep water species that more commonly migrated through Devon's waters in summer.

"Sightings and strandings of thresher sharks have increased in recent years in the South West and are likely to increase in the future, due to warming waters as a result of climate change," it said.

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