Latest news with #HarpswellMarineResources
Fox News
17-07-2025
- Fox News
Multiple sharks spotted at popular beach that saw deadly attack 5 years ago
A New England summer hot spot that was the site of the state's first fatal shark attack five years ago is once again seeing signs of the apex predator as thousands flock to the beach to enjoy the water. Authorities are warning the public to remain vigilant after two great white sharks were spotted off the coast of Maine's Bailey Island within 48 hours, the Harpswell Marine Resources and Harbor Management said in a Facebook post. In response to the sightings, officials have posted shark notification flags throughout Cedar Beach, the post said. Visitors who observe a shark are asked to take a picture and contact the Cumberland Regional Communication Center to help officials "take appropriate action at the time of the sightings." The beach remains open to swimmers, and officials have launched a notification system to keep visitors safely informed in the event a shark is spotted nearby. The sightings come five years after the same island was the scene of the Pine Tree State's first documented fatal shark attack. A woman was killed by an unprovoked shark while swimming off the shore of Bailey Island in July 2020. A witness initially saw the woman in the water when she was injured in an apparent shark attack, Maine Marine Patrol previously said. Two kayakers managed to reach the injured woman and brought her to shore, where first responders attempted to save her life. The woman died, Marine Patrol said. Last year, 71 shark bites were recorded throughout the United States, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File. Of the recorded cases, 47 of the bites were unprovoked, the ISAF reported. Harpswell Marine Resources and Harbor Management did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
CBS News
17-07-2025
- CBS News
Great white shark sightings off Maine trigger warnings for beachgoers
Officials in Maine are warning swimmers and beachgoers to exercise caution after multiple sightings of great white sharks in the same area where the state's only fatal shark attack took place. There were two documented sightings off Bailey Island, a picturesque spot in Maine's Casco Bay, according to a social media post by Harpswell Marine Resources & Harbor Management. Shark notification flags are now on display at Cedar Beach, on the northeast side of the island. The beach is still open for swimming, the agency said. "This notification system is in place for people to make informed decisions only," the agency said. Beachgoers who see sharks are asked to take pictures of the fish and contact the Cumberland County Regional Communication Center, the marine resources agency said. Maine's first and only deadly shark attack occurred off the coast of Bailey Island in 2020. Julie Dimperio Holowach, a 63-year-old New York City woman, was swimming with her daughter about 30 to 40 feet off the island's shore when she was bitten. Her daughter was not injured. Two kayakers helped Holowach get to shore, where an ambulance provided care, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Maine officials said the shark that attacked Holowach was a great white shark. Officials described the incident as an unprovoked attack, but said that Holowach was wearing a wetsuit and may have been mistaken for a seal. There have only been two documented unprovoked shark attacks in Maine, including the one that killed Holowach, according to researchers from the International Shark Attack File, a database run by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida. Unprovoked shark attacks are generally rare.
