The animal was recovered from Druridge Bay by volunteer medics from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) yesterday (September 24).
It has since been taken to the charity’s North East triage unit, where it is being kept in cold storage ahead of collection by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP).
The shark’s species has not yet been confirmed, although some commenters on social media had suggested it could be a porbeagle.
A BDMLR spokesperson said: “The deceased shark, whose species isn’t yet confirmed, was found by our volunteer Marine Mammal Medics last night.
“It was taken to our North East triage unit, where it is being held in cold storage until it can be collected by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.”
CSIP has a limited remit to investigate stranded non-cetacean species of particular interest and will determine whether any information about the shark can be gained from a post-mortem examination, known as a necropsy.
BDMLR said it does not currently have a date for when the animal will be collected and that no further information is available at this stage.
Photos of the shark circulated on social media yesterday, with some commenters suggesting the images could have been AI-generated.
BDMLR later said it was aware of the incident and sent medics to the scene.