BOOTHBAY HARBOR (NEWS CENTER Maine) — You are more likely to catch a glimpse of a seal or a whale in the waters off the Maine coast, but a shark sighting is rare.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Boothbay Harbor happened upon the rare sight on Monday, July 2.
Chief Adam Smart said the crew of the 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) was returning from a case when they saw something crossing their bow.
The vessel was about seven to nine miles off the coast when they slowed the engine and the shark drifted over to them, getting pretty "chummy" with the crew as he hung out for a while.
Smart says the crew used the boat length to estimate the shark at about 20-feet-long. Smart admits that no one on the crew is an expert but they thought shark could be a great white.
"Everyone on the crew was pretty excited. It is common to see whales but the shark sitings are rare for our guys," said Chief Adam Smart.
A shark was spotted off the coast of Kennebunkport in the summer of 2016, and a great white was tracked by a scientist from the University of New England off of Old Orchard Beach in September 2017.
It is unclear what type of shark the Coast Guard captured in this video.
