York Town News
Reported shark sighting keeps swimmers out of the water
By Jennifer L. Saunders
At least one of the reports of shark sightings last week in the waters off of York may have been one of the gentle giants of the sharks, a Basking shark, like the one pictured here.
Photo courtesy of Chris Gotschalk
Although the beaches have since been opened with no additional verified sightings, Town Manager Rob Yandow and Parks and Recreation Director Mike Sullivan said the goal was to err on the side of caution while the situation was assessed.
On Tuesday evening, Aug. 22, Sullivan said the town received a report of what appeared to be a shark in the waters off Libby's Campground on Long Sands Beach.
"It was actually Norm Davidson who called it in," Sullivan said of the campground's owner, adding the sighting was confirmed by a York police officer who was also able to see the creature swimming close to shore.
There was no determination as to what kind of shark it was, Sullivan said. In a recent case in Wells where a Mako shark was identified, the shark was deceased.
Yandow explained that after the report Tuesday evening, he spoke with Sullivan and York Police Chief Douglas Bracy to schedule a meeting the next morning.
A second reported sighting came in from the area of the Cutty Sark at about 10 a.m. that morning, Wednesday, Aug. 23.
"The three of us, along with John Bridges, Jeff Patten and Kevin LeConte, met to discuss a course of action," Yandow said. "After our discussion, we all agreed that we should close the beaches to swimming for the day. We met again the next morning and decided to open the beaches to swimming as there had been no additional confirmed sightings."
Sullivan said the town's lifeguards were out on the beaches early, putting up red flags and advising beachgoers to stay out of the water.
"We had also had a sighting that occurred about a week earlier. It was a combination of multiple sightings," Sullivan said. "There were several calls. The beach was a little bit in frenzy. … I think people were on edge."
Sullivan said it is unusual to have such reports in York.
"We don't have a lot of experience dealing with this issue," he said, adding that he can only remember such instances occurring three times in the approximately 25 years that he's had oversight of York's beaches. "It's very, very rare."
The red flags remained up all day on Wednesday, and town officials then met early Thursday morning.
"We determined at that point that because there had been no sightings since 10 a.m. that morning, that we would reopen the beach," Sullivan said, adding the beaches have been open ever since. "We haven't had any verified sightings since."
When asked what type of shark it might have been, Sullivan said he could only theorize that, based on the extremely large size of the creature, it might have been a Basking shark.
"I'd like to emphasize that's only speculation," Sullivan said.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History's compilation of information on Basking sharks, they are migratory animals common to the waters of the Atlantic.
"We have sharks here off the coast of New England, and typically they're not the species we worry about," Sullivan said, adding all the reports received, including those from police personnel, were that the shark was very large in size - in keeping with the size of a Basking shark, which feeds on plankton. "They are not harmful to people. … That guy's probably been around a lot longer than any of us know."
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, the Basking shark is classified as an endangered species in the northeast Atlantic ocean.
While the Basking shark - if that is what was seen in York's waters last week - would not be considered a danger to people, the Mako shark identified in Wells would be, Sullivan said.
"That's a nasty predator," he said of the Mako. "… I think the town manager made the right decision to err on the cautious side and to wait to see if we knew what we're dealing with. It's something that's new to us, but it's something I think the town dealt with quite well."
As of Tuesday, no additional closures had been reported in town.
