Daryen Granata said more than half a dozen white sharks were seen close to shore in Scarborough, Maine over the last 48 hours as swimmers and people fishing near Pine Point Beach kept an eye on the water. The sightings led officials to step up monitoring around Beaches Near Me while they tracked the sharks near the sandbar.
Granata said the sharks had been seen consistently for the last 48 hours, and that officials started flying aircrafts and drones to keep track. He said the sharks were being surveyed near a popular sandbar at Pine Point Beach, where people fish in waist-deep water and swim in the same area.
Granata and Pine Point Beach
Granata said many of the sharks spotted in the area are juveniles. He also said five to seven fairly good-sized sharks were probably six to eight feet long, while drone videos showed some larger sharks that were 10-12 feet long.
“Usually we'll see one or two [sharks] here and there. This is a large volume, larger than I've seen, and I've worked this area for 30-plus years,” Granata said. He added, “We know it's a place where people recreationally fish in waist-deep water; they typically swim right there.”
John Chisholm on New England
John Chisholm said warmer water is making the region more hospitable to some sharks. He said tiger sharks were once seen only occasionally in the area but are now coming up reliably year after year, and said the waters in New England are warming faster than any other places in the ocean around the world.
Chisholm said the number of sharks seen in Maine was surprising, but added, “But it's definitely not unusual for white sharks to be in this area this time of year.” He told beachgoers, “Be aware of your surroundings and prepare before you go to the beach because you're going into a wilderness area.”
Mark Coleman at Pine Point Beach
Mark Coleman, who was at Pine Point Beach, said, “I don't want to get eaten, but no problem. Sharks are sharks; they'll stay out there, and I'll stay here, no worries.” The practical question for swimmers now is whether the sharks stay near the sandbar long enough to keep the area under close watch, while officials continue flying aircrafts and drones to follow their movement.
