KIHEI, Maui — An 8-foot hammerhead shark that may have been the one recently sighted close to the south Maui shoreline has been found dead in an illegally set gill net.

Lifeguard Capt. Jeff Meadows said whoever set the net probably had no intention of catching the shark.

While no one could be sure, this shark may have been the same one that has been lurking in shallow waters, keeping people out of the water.

Some observers had speculated that the shark was coming close to shore because it was sick.

The hammerhead found Thursday had a large number of parasites that looked like brownish-black worms or slugs around its head, mouth and gill slits.