Officials are reporting a recent increase in shark strandings along the North Carolina coast.
According to the North Carolina Shark Conservancy, several sharks have washed ashore over the past 30 days. Those include multiple smooth dogfish, a spiny dogfish, and sand tiger sharks.
Over the weekend, two more strandings were reported — a sandbar shark in the Outer Banks and a sand tiger shark on Topsail Beach.
The conservancy says it has received multiple reports in recent days and is working with local towns to respond, while continuing to build out volunteer teams.
Officials are reminding the public not to touch stranded sharks, noting that many species are protected.
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Anyone who spots a stranded shark is asked to report it to the North Carolina Shark Conservancy hotline at 252-216-2810.