A DOLPHIN with a shark bite washed up on Chesil beach.

It was one of a pair washed ashore, but it is believed the shark bit after the creature had died.

Wildlife campaigners say it is possible that the pair were bycatch victims – unwanted marine creatures trapped in commercial fishing nets whilst trawling for other species.

They also say there is nothing to fear and that the shark that inflicted the bite was most probably a blue shark, around 1.5m to 2m long.

Wildlife photographer and campaigner Steve Trewhella said: “My main concern is that two apparently healthy dolphins washed up together on a local beach. It is widely believed that ‘pair trawling’ is responsible for many dolphin deaths and the demand for fish appears to outweigh the need to protect and conserve mobile species like marine mammals and basking sharks.

“I deal with a lot of stranded dolphins and porpoises at this time of the year, and although they are an iconic species which the general public claims to love, those same people could be buying fish from a fishery that results in the deaths of these animals.”

Mr Trewhella believes there is an ‘apathetic attitude’ to marine life conservation. He said: “Our government has failed in marine conservation. Our long awaited Marine Bill has become a crumbling ruin, with only a handful of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ), of which none have any real protection from destructive activity. This apathetic attitude toward conservation can only result in more pressure on our marine wildlife.”

It is thought that the shark scavenged the dolphin after its death and the body would have travelled ‘some distance’ before washing ashore.

Mark Smith, from Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “The dolphin would have died and then the shark would have scavenged it. A shark of that size would not be able to take down a dolphin.

“Sharks have a lot more reason to be fearful of us than we have of them. Twenty million blue sharks are killed annually. Most people think it’s China’s problem, but actually Europe is responsible for 40 per cent of shark landings.”

The Shark Trust is running the ‘No Limits’ campaign for a quota limit to be applied on the number of sharks which can be caught.