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After a fisherman spotted a shark swimming near Bailey Island’s Cedar Beach in late June, Harpswell town officials raised a purple caution flag altering beachgoers to the potential risk. But rather than continue to raise and lower warning flags at this and other swimming spots as shark sightings occur, they’ve decided to keep them up throughout the summer tourist season.
“It’s important to alert our visitors that there are sharks in the water,” Katie Neal, the town’s recreation director, said at a Harpswell Select Board meeting on Thursday, July 2.
In the past, Neal and Harbormaster Darcie Couture have decided whether to raise and lower the flags based on individual shark sightings — most of which come from fishing boats.
But that approach risks conveying a certainty that isn’t justified, as great white sharks are regular — and constantly moving — visitors in the waters around Harpswell, Neal and Couture said.
“Sharks don’t stay in one place,” Neal said.
Couture, who holds a master’s degree in marine biology, added, “Sharks travel hundred of miles in a short period of time.”
Select Board members supported the new plan, which will have purple flags and informational signs on display at town-run beaches: Cedar Beach, Mackerel Cove and Mitchell Field. The town will also coordinate with the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust to post the warnings at the beaches it controls at the Potts Point and Stover’s Point preserves.
While sharks rarely come close to swimmers, Harpswell was home to Maine’s only confirmed fatal shark attack. In July 2020, 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach was swimming with her daughter in Mackerel Cove when she was killed by a great white shark. Her daughter was unharmed, and officials said the shark had probably mistaken Holowach — who was wearing a wetsuit — for a seal.
Considering that tragedy and the ongoing presence of sharks, the Select Board supported keeping the warning flags in place at least through Labor Day. Said Select Board member David Chipman, “It’s shark season and we should let people know.”
People who spot a shark in town waters can report the sighting to the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center at 207-893-2810. Officials will follow up with the caller to obtain more details, including any photos from the sighting.
