The carcass of a pregnant female dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) was found washed up on Olga Beach in Hadera on Monday morning, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) announced.
This is the third time in two months that a dead shark has been found on a Hadera beach, with two being found previously on 18 December 2024 and 13 January 2025.
Ilya Baskin, a marine unit inspector from INPA, said the shark was a large specimen, measuring in at three meters.
The INPA loaded the shark into a vehicle and took it to the Israel Sea Turtle Rescue Center for a necropsy, which was conducted by Dr. Dani Morik, head of the Blue Biotechnology and Sustainable Marine Aquaculture department at the Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, and head of Marine Pathology at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, along with Dr. Yaniv Levy, director of the Israel Sea Turtle Rescue Center.
After discovering that the shark was a female, the INPA team performed an ultrasound was performed to check for live embryos. Dr. Yaniv Levy and his team managed to remove four embryos, which were placed in a seawater tank in an attempt to revive them, but this was unsuccessful.
Four embryos—three females and one male—have been removed so far, but additional embryos remain inside the shark's body.
"The pregnant shark, measuring three meters and weighing 165 kilograms, arrived lifeless after washing up on Olga Beach," said Dr Levy. "It was a large and impressive female at an early stage of pregnancy."
"The embryos were still connected to the umbilical cord inside the placenta, and their chances of survival at this stage were extremely low, but it was worth trying to save them."
Dr. Levy added that the dusky shark is an endangered species, and he was curious to uncover more details about the cause of death.
Last week, videos on social media showed fishermen in Hadera releasing a shark that was caught in their net. INPA officials stated that it is unknown whether it was the same shark as the one that was found dead this morning.
Dr. Aviad Sheinin, head of the apex predator research program at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, claimed it has been "an unusual year in terms of the number of dead sharks washing up onshore during the season. We haven't seen such cases in the past decade."
Dusky sharks
"This shark was not tagged as part of the ongoing research on dusky and sandbar shark populations. Based on its size and weight, it was a mature and massive female. The embryos' size indicates they were still in the early stages of development."
Sheinin added that "there is insufficient data on dusky sharks, but we know they arrive in Israel mainly around November and remain in the area until April or May. Most of them are females, and we rarely see males."
Four embryos—three females and one male—have been removed so far, but additional embryos remain inside the shark's body.
Dusky sharks are a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae. They are generalist apex predators and can be found at depths of 400 m (1,300 ft). Dusky sharks can reach more than 4 m (13 ft) in length and 350 kg (770 lb) in weight.
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