A woman is dead following what could be Maine’s first shark attack.
The Maine Marine Patrol is investigating the woman’s death near Bailey Island, according to the state’s Department of Marine Resources. Officials said an eyewitness reported the woman was swimming off the shore near White Sails Lane when she was injured “in what appeared to be a shark attack.”
Kayakers nearby brought her to shore and EMS responded to the scene, where she was pronounced dead.
“Until further notice, swimmers and boaters are urged to use caution near Bailey Island and to avoid swimming near schooling, fish or seals,” the department said. The victim’s identity has not been released.
Shark attacks in Maine are “very rare,” said James Sulikowski of the Sulikowski Shark and Fish Conservation Lab at Arizona State University, according to the Portland Press Herald. According to Sulikowski, there has only been one unprovoked shark attack recorded in Maine. In October 2010, an undersea diver filmed a shark attacking him off the coast of Eastport. The diver was uninjured.
The University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File has also recorded only one unprovoked shark attack in Maine since 1837, according to ABC News.
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