Beached shark pulled to safety by New Brunswick teen

A 15-year-old in New Brunswick discovered a shark beached on the shore near his home and felt compelled to assist the animal. Finn Holland and his family traveled to Maces Bay, located about 48 kilometers southwest of Saint John, to help the beached shark. Initially, the teen had no intention of saving the shark, but upon closer inspection, he noticed injuries and scars possibly from the rocks on the beach.

The shark was on its back when Holland and his family arrived, so he quickly rolled it onto its stomach to assess its condition. Upon doing so, he noticed the shark was extremely weak and unresponsive. The teen then began slowly pulling the shark about six meters into the water and attempted to guide it into the ocean, taking roughly 10 minutes before the animal regained its strength to swim away.

The St. Lawrence Shark Observatory confirmed that the shark was a porbeagle shark, a native cold-water species commonly found in the Atlantic Canadian waters, including the Bay of Fundy. Jeffrey Gallant, the scientific director, praised the teen's actions, stating that it was the right thing to do to return the shark to the water, offering it its best chance of survival.

However, Gallant cautioned that the shark should not be considered as having survived based on this alone, as stranded sharks are often severely stressed, ill, injured, or otherwise compromised psychologically. Holland's actions have received widespread praise from the community, including from Fundy Shores Mayor Denny Cogswell, who posted about it on Facebook.