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Beaches reopened to swimmers after shark-related closures

E-mail|Link|Comments () August 6, 2010 01:46 PM

By Sean Teehan, Globe Correspondent

Beaches in New Bedford, Fairhaven and Westport reopened waters to swimmers today
after recent closures due to shark sightings, officials said.

Waters at the Fort Phoenix State Reservation in Fairhaven have been reopened after being closed Thursday, said Wendy Fox, a state Department of Conservation and Recreation spokeswoman. However, the DCR urges swimmers not to go further than waist-deep, Fox said.

The DCR also welcomed swimmers to cool off in the water at Westport Beach in Westport, which was closed to swimmers Wednesday and Thursdsay, Fox said. The same waist-deep recommendation applies to people at Horseneck Beach.

All beaches in New Bedford are also now open for swimming, a notice from the city’s mayor Scott W. Lang’s office said. A New Bedford port security team investigating Wednesday sightings of a shark off the coast of Fort Tabor found no sharks, said Kristin Decas, the executive director of the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission.