Horseneck Beach in Westport shut down after shark sighting
WESTPORT - Beaches in the Westport area were shut down Wednesday following a shark sighting. A lifeguard reported seeing the shark near Horseneck Beach.
When the shark flags went up Wednesday morning, regulars found it hard to take seriously.
"When we walked in there's a shark flag up," beachgoer Eric Thorgerson said smiling. "And I thought someone was kidding."
But it was no joke. Just after 9:30 a.m. a lifeguard in chair nine spotted a shark's dorsal fin about 100 yards offshore. Officials were quick to order "no swimming" at Horseneck and two smaller beaches along this same stretch of Westport.
"We've had a place here for 20 years and we've never heard anything like this," said beachgoer Elizabeth Foote.
Indeed, visits from sharks, specifically great whites, have been mostly a Cape Cod phenomenon these last several years, where the exploding seal population has become a summer buffet, bringing regular shark sightings and closed beaches there.
"Never really heard that they come down here this far, there's really not really a lot of seals or food sources down here," said beachgoer Kelly Whatka. "So it caught me off-guard definitely."
The sighting, while still unconfirmed by the experts, comes on the heels of a confirmed great white sighting in nearby Buzzards Bay on Sunday.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy says sightings this far east are uncommon, pointing to its Sharktivity tracker which shows only three in this area over the last year.
"I'm not going to say it wasn't exciting, there's definitely a little adventure when you're in the water looking around for that," said surfer Jamie Merkle, "but I think as a surfer you're a little bit more of a target."
So, with two sightings within three days, authorities in Westport played it safe. And as the sand got pretty hot on this July day, most folks didn't seem inclined to risk even a quick splash.
"When you look around and nobody else is in the water, you don't go in the water," Merkle said. "
Unlike individual towns on the Cape that often respond to shark sightings by shutting down the beach for an hour, the state protocol is a full day, and Horseneck beach is a state park.
