Around 20 dead sharks washed up on the beach between Sint-Idesbald and Oostduinkerke on Friday morning.
Walkers had already spotted around six sharks, each a metre long, in the tide line between Sint-Idesbald and Ster der Zee on Thursday evening.
They have been identified as starry smooth-hound sharks, a species harmless to humans. The municipality of Koksijde and scientific authorities will collect the remains.
A stranded starry smooth-hound (Mustelus asterias) shark. Credit: Gemeente Koksijde
The sharks will be examined by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences to establish the cause of their deaths.
They show no bite marks, but do have internal injuries. This may indicate that they became entangled in a fisherman's net and were thrown back into the sea upon capture.
