Dead hammerhead shark found on Carolina Beach

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Biologists with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries responded to Sand Dollar Lane, where they collected data and DNA samples from the shark before it was removed.

Officials identified the animal as a female Greater hammerhead. It measured 12 feet in total length and weighed an estimated 600 pounds. The hammer measured nearly 3 feet across.

The shark’s head will be preserved at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The rest of the animal was cut up and disposed of at a waste management facility.