Staff reports
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NEWBURYPORT — The hunt for an alleged great white shark sighted at the mouth of the Merrimack River turned up empty yesterday, but authorities say it's not implausible that such a beast could have ventured into local waters.
Police and harbormasters investigated a report yesterday morning of a great white shark that a fisherman claimed to have seen at the river mouth, where the river spills out into the Atlantic Ocean. State police sent a helicopter to check local waters, but no sign of the shark was found.
Newburyport Harbormaster Paul Hogg said the fisherman reported that he had just pulled a legal-sized striped bass onto his boat and was gutting it, letting blood run into the water. The shark suddenly emerged from the water, then rolled over and swam off. The Hudson, N.H., fisherman, whom Hogg described as experienced and very familiar with local waters, reported the shark was as "about as long as his boat," which is 24 feet. Attempts by The Daily News to reach the fisherman were unsuccessful.
However, the size and type of shark has not been confirmed by authorities. Great whites are rarely seen in this region; although, a state shark scientist said this is within their range.
"White sharks are broadly distributed from the Caribbean right up to Canada, so it's entirely possible," said Greg Skomal, a shark scientist for the state Division of Marine Fisheries. "This is part of their range, but it's also within the range of other animals as well."
There have been no prior confirmed reports of a shark in the river.
Great whites are perhaps the most infamous of killer sharks, due in large part to their portrayal in the novel and movie "Jaws." Set on Martha's Vineyard, "Jaws" depicted an enormous, man-eating great white shark that terrorized a small seaside community.
Great whites have in fact been spotted and caught off the Massachusetts coast this summer, though none have been large.
The shark sighting led Salisbury Beach State Reservation to temporarily restrict swimmers from going out beyond knee depth, but that order was rescinded around noon. Beach-goers were warned when they reached the admission gate, and some chose to turn around and stay out of the water. But many others headed to the beach.
It was also the subject of much talk along the waterfront.
"It's a pretty unlikely thing," said longtime tuna fisherman Joey Jancewicz. "It's very rare that they come north of Cape Cod."
While Jancewicz said a great white was recently caught in and around the Gloucester area, which is farther north than is typical of the great white territory, he found it hard to believe a 24-footer would be lurking near the mouth of the Merrimack. In 40 years of fishing around here, the presence of a great white would constitute a first for him.
"It would be the first time ever in my life that there has been a shark in the Merrimack River," Jancewicz said.
It would also be a first for Windward Yacht Yard manager Butch Frangipane, who's made his living along the river for the past three decades.
"I don't think I've ever heard of a shark in the river," Frangipane said.
Still, Hogg said it would not be unusual to see some type of large shark come in as close to shore as was reported by the fisherman. The water has been so warm that fish of all kinds have been plentiful right up close to the shoreline, which naturally attracts predators, he said.
Hogg said it was never confirmed one way or another that the shark was a great white. Hogg said the shark had some white on it, but that does not necessarily mean it was a great white.
The search for the shark began around 10 a.m. and was called off about three hours later.
Hogg said fishing has generally been good around the mouth of the river, and that it is "definitely not out of the realm of possibility" that a large shark could come this far toward shore in search of fish. There have been reports of many seals in the area, and sharks are natural predators of seals.
The river is tidal in the area where the shark was spotted, and so it's not uncommon for saltwater fish to be found in the mouth. A few years ago, a beluga whale swam as far up the river as Newburyport, which is about a mile upriver from the mouth. Seals have been known to swim 5 or more miles upriver, in pursuit of fish.
