The state Bureau of Parks and Lands on Monday lifted water restrictions at three state parks that were imposed last week following Maine’s first fatal shark attack.
Swimmers at Popham Beach, Ferry Beach and Crescent Beach state parks are no longer restricted to knee- or waist-deep water, but a waist-deep restriction at Reid State Park will remain in place because of a lifeguard shortage, according to the bureau.
People walk and wade at Ferry Beach State Park in Saco on Sunday. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer
The restrictions were put in place following the first recorded fatality from a shark attack in Maine’s history. Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, a retired fashion executive and summer resident of Harpswell, died last Monday after being attacked by a shark while swimming about 20 yards offshore near her home on Bailey Island. The shark was confirmed as a great white shark based on tooth fragments.
After the attack, the Maine Marine Patrol started regular patrols of Casco Bay to monitor shark activity, and the state parks restricted water activity to keep swimmers out of deeper water.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources has not reported a shark sighting since Friday, when a drone operator saw a great white shark swimming near Pond Island Ledges, east of Bailey Island and near the site of the fatal attack. It has been the only confirmed sighting of a great white shark in Casco Bay since Holowach’s death, according to the department.
The marine patrol is using boats and aircraft to continue “targeted patrols” to look for sharks in the Casco Bay region, according to a spokesman.
The Marine Patrol asks that anyone who sees a shark contact them and provide a location and photos, if possible.
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