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Popham Beach closes Wednesday evening due to white shark sighting

The Maine DACF issued an alert of the beach's closure Wednesday evening. Water access will reopen Thursday at 9 a.m.

PHIPPSBURG, Maine — The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry sent out an alert Wednesday at 6:09 p.m. warning Popham Beach State Park visitors of a confirmed shark sighting. 

The post states water access will be closed for the remainder of Wednesday evening, and will reopen Thursday morning at 9 a.m. 

The confirmed white shark sighting occurred at 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to the alert. 

Credit: NCM

This sighting comes after multiple white sharks have been tracked along the Maine coast.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources issued a reminder for best shark safety practices July 17 to help beachgoers remain cautious and aware of their surroundings.

"While relative risk of a shark attack is very small, risks should always be minimized whenever possible in any activity on the water," the DMR stated in the reminder.

You can report white shark sightings to an online form from the DMR here, which will be submitted to the DMR science bureau for review. 

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