Salisbury Beach swimmers back in water after shark sighting not confirmed by state

By Jeffrey Fish, Globe Correspondent

State officials deployed a helicopter today but so far have been unable to confirm the sighting of a shark off the shores of Salisbury Beach.

The Division of Marine Fisheries and the State Police, which patrols Salisbury Beach State Reservation, both tried to confirm the sighting, but were unsuccessful. State Police used a helicopter for aerial surveillance, officials said.

A fisherman sparked the inquiry who said something took his bait and that he thought it was a large shark, said State Police spokesman David Procopio.

As a precaution, swimmers at Salisbury Beach were told this morning to stay in shallow waters, said Wendy Fox, spokeswoman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees the beach. But that order was rescinded this afternoon after the siting could not be confirmed, and swimmers are no longer being restricted, she said.

Any time someone reports a shark sighting it has to be investigated, said Marine Fisheries spokeswoman Catherine Williams. Some media outlets reported that the fisherman spotted a suspected great white shark, but officials would not immediately confirm that.

There have been two confirmed sightings of great white sharks off the coast of Massachusetts so far this year, one near Gloucester and one near Chatham, officials have said.