In Maine, It's the Summer of Sharks

Great white shark sightings are booming off the coast of Maine, though they might say as much about us as about them. WCSH reports on "nearly a dozen credible sightings" in the last three weeks, while a local marine resource officer speaks of "daily" sightings off Scarborough-area beaches, per Fox News. Multiple drone clips show the animals cruising close to shore, including one swimming near surfers at Higgins Beach on Saturday, per WMTW. One lifelong resident describes "more sharks in Maine than I've ever seen in my entire life."

Scientists say white sharks have been slowly rebounding since federal protections in the 1990s, helped by growing seal populations and abundant bait fish. Warming waters may also be keeping them in the Gulf of Maine for longer periods of summer. But officials stress that better weather, booming beach crowds, drones, phones, and social media all amplify what we see, making it hard to know how many more sharks are actually out there. "The more you look for them, the more you're going to find them," Jérôme Pinti, a scientist at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, tells WCSH. Police are urging swimmers to skip dawn and dusk dips, avoid murky water, stay shallow, and never swim alone.