First record of young‐of‐the‐year smooth hammerhead ( Sphyrna zygaena ) in coastal waters of Galicia, northwest Spain

Abstract The smooth hammerhead ( Sphyrna zygaena ) is typically considered an oceanic species and is only rarely observed in the cooler coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic. On 20 December 2024, a juvenile S. zyganea was captured at 25 m depth in the inner Ría de Pontevedra (Rías Baixas, northwest Spain). This represents the first verified record of a young‐of‐the‐year individual in Galicia, and potentially across the entire Iberian Peninsula. This observation, together with four confirmed adult sightings in Galician waters in recent years, indicates the sporadic presence of the species far beyond its recognised nursery and distributional range. Such occurrences may reflect an emerging northward or inshore shift, potentially linked to climate‐driven changes in regional oceanographic conditions. Documenting these atypical events enhances our understanding of hammerhead shark ecology in temperate Atlantic systems and underscores the need to identify potential nursery habitats within European waters.