Salmon shark washed up at Oregon coast, july 2012
Salmon shark washed up at Oregon coast, july 2012. Photo: Seaside Aquarium.

SEASIDE (USA)- The northern coast of the US State Oregon has seen a remarkable washing up of salmon sharks.

Last week another shark washed up. It is the fifth juvenile salmon shark in this area in the last two months. Three of the sharks, including this one, were already dead when they washed ashore. The other two were found struggling in the surf and were placed back into deeper water and swam away

It is said to be a typical occurrence this time of year along the Oregon coast from Cannon Beach down to Brookings. The shark has been sent to Stanford University for further study where a graduate student is looking in to why this is happening.

Salmon sharks are related to Mako sharks and Great Whites, and are presumed to be only fish-eaters. There’s never been any documentation of them biting a human.

Still they suffer bad reputation as cousins and lookalikes of the Great White. The average person that spots a salmon shark almost always reports it as a Great White sighting.