A rare blue shark has been found washed up on Tentsmuir Beach in Fife, Scotland. The 5ft animal is normally found in very deep water and rarely comes near shore. It may have become ill or been caught up in fishing nets. Between 10 and 20 million of these sharks are thought to be captured each year for their skins and liver oil, numbers are declining and their conservation status is “near threatened”. Two months ago, a 9ft blue shark captured 20 miles off the Welsh coast was the second largest ever caught near Britain.

Scientists amazed as rare deep-water Blue Shark washes up on a beach in Scotland – The Sun