A few locals tried to drag this roughly three-metre porbeagle shark back to sea after it got stuck in the shallows off a Cape Breton beach Sunday night.

It was found dead, however, early Monday morning.

Photographer Sean O'Connell was among those who came across the beached animal, which he said was as long as a basketball net is high.

He said he'd also seen the animal struggling Sunday even after watching several men pull the shark further into the water.

Nova Scotia has about 20 different native shark species, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The department identified the shark as a porbeagle, a species not known for causing problems for humans.