Four-metre-long Great White Shark washes up on Haida Gwaii beach

A four-metre-long Great White Shark has washed up on a beach in Haida Gwaii.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) says their scientists confirmed the species by analyzing its tooth shape and the shape of its tail fin.

In a statement, the DFO says the male shark had been feeding on seals, a common prey for great whites.

The statement says the sharks are rare in B.C. waters, but sightings are not unheard of and they can be found from the Gulf of California up to the Gulf of Alaska and in B.C.’s outer coastal waters.

The department says that many people believe they’ve seen a great white in B.C. waters, but it usually turns out to be a salmon shark, a close relative to the great white.

Because of climate change, the statement says, those out on B.C. waters can expect to see more great whites in the area in the coming decades.