2m-long dead shark washes up on Waihi Beach

Even in death, it's a terrifying sight - a 2m-long shark washed up on a beach in the Bay of Plenty yesterday morning.

Herald cartoonist Rod Emmerson snapped pictures of the "magnificent creature", which he found at the water's edge on Waihi Beach around dawn on Sunday.

The shark washed up on Waihi Beach on Sunday morning. Photo / Rod Emmerson

He tweeted that there was no sign of what caused its death.

"[I] suspect it deterred early morning board riders," he said.

The fearsome looking creature likely deterred early morning board riders, Emmerson wrote. Photo / Rod Emmerson