Video courtesy of David Lancaster

A large shark was spotted this week near beaches in Scarborough, prompting public safety officials to issue a warning to the public.

The shark — believed to be a great white — was first spotted Monday near Richmond Island and Scarborough Beach, Scarborough police said.

On Tuesday morning, Daryen Granata, the town’s marine resource officer, obtained drone video footage taken by a resident that showed a possible 10- to 12-foot shark off the southern end of Richmond Island near Higgins Beach and Scarborough Beach.

Granata said he put out the warning about the shark because he expects the beaches to be busy during this week’s hot weather.

“We all know sharks live in the ocean,” he said. “We don’t want people to not swim, we just want them to have situational awareness and mitigate a shark attack.

“If you see a dorsal fin swimming around, I’d get out of the water for a few minutes.”

Police issued the warning for people visiting Richmond Island, Crescent Beach, Higgins Beach and Pine Point Beach.

Scarborough police said in a Facebook post that updates would be shared if additional information becomes available.

Last month, Harpswell officials put up shark notification flags at Cedar Beach after two documented white shark sightings.

White sharks are not new to the Gulf of Maine. Their numbers here are likely bouncing back because of conservation measures put in place to protect white sharks, which were overfished until the 1990s, as well as seals, a favorite prey species for adult whites.

Researchers say the low number of white sharks in the region means that Maine swimmers aren’t at significant risk from the sharks, which appear to be using shallow coastal waters next to popular beaches while traveling between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia. They are likely snacking on the growing seal populations in the Gulf of Maine.

After a white shark killed a woman swimming off Bailey Island in Harpswell in 2020 — Maine’s only fatal shark attack on record — the Maine Department of Marine Resources launched a study team and deployed acoustic sensors along the coast to track the activity of already-tagged white sharks.

The sensors show white sharks like sandy beaches. In an average year, Ogunquit will attract seven sharks in a five-day span, while Higgins Beach in Scarborough attracts five. Kennebunk averages six sharks in as many days, and Wells sees an average of five sharks every four days.