Great white shark sighting puts Biddeford lifeguards, beachgoers on high alert

BIDDEFORD (WGME) — A confirmed great white shark sighting off Biddeford prompted lifeguards and beachgoers to be on high alert Thursday, adding to a string of shark sightings along the Maine coast in recent weeks.

Purple flags were flying at Biddeford public beaches after the shark was reported shortly before noon off Granite Point near a private beach.

“You forget the ocean is a dangerous place,” Matt Granger, a visitor from Colorado, said.

Granger and his family were at the private beach Thursday swimming in the water. They say they were never notified of the sighting.

“In today’s day and age, you get an Amber Alert about a child missing on the freeway. Why would we not be notified about a potential shark sighting?” Granger said.

Biddeford Recreation, which posted on Facebook about the sighting, says officials did not see anyone on the private beach when the shark was reported but planned to go to the area later Thursday to notify beachgoers.

The city says the shark appeared to be moving north along the coast. A CBS 3 crew attempted to locate the shark with a drone near Pine Point Beach but was unsuccessful.

The sighting comes as great white sharks have been spotted repeatedly along the Maine coast in recent weeks, with people capturing photos and videos of the animals from the ground to the air.

Bryan Franks, Director of the Girard Marine Science Center at the University of New England, confirmed white shark sightings have increased.

“The population of white sharks has increased over the last 25, 30 years,” Franks said.

Franks says the increased presence of phones and drones may be why we are not only hearing about but seeing shark sightings. However, there is also an environmental aspect that could contributing to the creatures swimming more frequently before our eyes.

“White sharks are species that particularly like cooler water, so as southern waters warm, the range of the population may be moving a little north,” Franks said.

Juvenile white sharks have been a common sight as well in Maine waters.

“We have a lot of big schools of striped bass; we have big schools of Atlantic Menhaden, and these white sharks, when they’re juveniles, they tend to have more of a mixed diet,” University of Maine Marine Sciences Associate Professor Walter Golet said.

Experts say great whites will typically swim around the Northeast until the early fall.

“They always have been here, and I think it’s just one of those things that we have to be cognizant about,” Golet said.

As for some Maine beachgoers, a shark sighting does not automatically mean they are sticking to the land.

“We’ll be out there but keeping a close eye,” Granger said.