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.