July 11, 2008
The Associated Press is reporting that the island where Jaws was filmed got a real-life shark scare when two beaches were closed on Thursday, July 10, 2008, due to an unconfirmed sighting of a great white shark nearby.
A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation said state-run South Beach was closed for a time Thursday after the Coast Guard received reports of the shark sighting. Swimmers were also kept out of the water at State Beach in Edgartown.
A plane was sent up to try to confirm the sighting.
In 1974, Steven Spielberg chose Martha’s Vineyard for the movie version of Jaws, depicting a series of deadly great white attacks in the fictional community of Amity.
Shark attacks are extremely rare in waters off New England, but great whites have been known to occasionally prowl in the region.
Meanwhile, half a world away, on July 9, 2008, Australia media was talking about a great white caught in a lake.
An estimated seven-meter (21 ft) long great white shark got netted in waters at a popular school holiday spot at NSW’s Tuggerah Lake.
The fisherman reported snaring the huge shark in nets he had cast off Canton Beach, at the northern end of the lake about 5.30am on July 9th.
He claimed that he actually caught the shark in his net and the shark came up and started thrashing about, and hit his boat. He said it was bigger than his boat – he’s got an 18-foot boat and he said it would have been about 21 feet. Tuggerah Lakes is only about 12 kilometres long and five kilometres wide. It’s not a big lake but it’s a bloody big shark, if it’s true.’ ~ said Chief Inspector Tim Winmill.
The shark was last seen heading south towards the middle of the lake, Chief Inspector Winmill said.
Mick Crowe, president of nearby Soldiers Beach Surf Club, expressed surprise there had been reports of a shark in the lake.
“That’s quite bizarre if that’s the case – Canton Beach is only ankle-deep water for the first 150 metres,” he said.
But the Department of Primary Industries and the Fisheries Department both believed the fisherman’s claims, Chief Inspector Winmill said.
They believe he’s a credible witness, he’s been a commercial fisherman for a long time, he’s well aware of species of sharks. They don’t have any reason to doubt the truthfulness of his allegation.Chief Inspector Winmill
The fisherman would not speak publicly about his encounter with the great white.
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About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
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