Drone video shows massive great white shark lurking near popular beaches in Maine
Scarborough's marine resource officer got word of the roughly 10- to 12-foot shark on Monday, police said. The shark was spotted in the area of Crescent Beach State Park, Higgins Beach and Pine Point Beach, they said, all located within a half-hour's drive of Portland.
Commercial clam fisherman David Lancaster was able to take drone footage of the shark swimming just beneath the surface, its grey fin poking through the gentle swells. He said seeing the big shark was "magnificent," if a little surprising.
"It was pretty crazy to see in the local waters. There are some really amazing creatures in the sea," Lancaster, who lives in nearby Scarborough, said. "It's in the back of your head, but you have to accept it."
White sharks, made famous 50 years ago in the movie "Jaws," are not commonly seen off Maine, but have lived in the state's waters for centuries. Sightings ticked up in recent years, and some scientists say the state's growing population of seals could be a reason for more shark activity. White sharks feed on marine mammals such as seals.
The police department in Scarborough said they were circulating the drone footage "for public situational awareness" after the big fish was spotted.
"We are sharing this information promptly to keep the community informed," police said in a statement.
Fatal shark bites for humans are exceedingly rare, as are unprovoked attacks in Maine.
The first recorded fatal shark attack in Maine happened in the summer of 2020 when a great white shark killed 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach of New York City. She was attacked off Bailey Island, around 15 miles northeast of Portland. The state responded with efforts to provide beachgoers with more warning about the presence of sharks.
Officials described the 2020 incident as an unprovoked attack, but said that Holowach was wearing a wetsuit and may have been mistaken for a seal.
Last month, officials in Maine warned beachgoers to exercise caution after multiple sightings of great white sharks in the same area where Holowach was fatally attacked.
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.
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