Another shark seen swimming off Popham Beach State Park

One of Maine’s most popular oceanfront parks was closed to swimming Sunday for the second time in less than a week after a surfer spotted a fin gliding through the ocean waters between Fox and Heron Islands.

Jim Britt, spokesman for the Maine Department of Agriculture and Forestry, said the apparent shark sighting off Popham Beach State Park in Phippsburg was reported around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Swimmers were ordered to get out of the water and were not allowed to return.

“Our staff saw something in a similar area and could not confirm it to be a shark,” Britt said in an email. Britt said a group of seals, which sharks are known to hunt in shallow waters, was seen leaving that area of Popham around the same time, heading toward Heron Island. “The swim area was closed for the remainder of Sunday out of caution and reopened this morning (Monday).”

There were no additional reports of fin sightings Monday. Britt said that Popham Beach park staff have access to drones, purchased in part through the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, to patrol the beach and coastal waters.

Swimmers at the park were asked to get out of the ocean on July 27th after a paddle boarder spotted a great white shark swimming offshore at low tide. The park was closed to all activity around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday.

State and local officials have logged more than a dozen reports of great white sharks off the Maine coast so far this year. Since early June, the Maine Department of Marine Resources has confirmed at least 14 white shark appearances, according to state shark biologist Matt Davis.

Public vigilance has increased since a woman was killed by a great white shark in Harpswell two years ago, the state’s only fatal shark attack. The town has set up a hotline for people to report shark sightings, logging eight reports so far this summer.