Cory Hawkes, who had fished those waters his whole life without seeing a great white shark, was moving from offshore to inshore when he noticed something unusual.🦈
HARPSWELL, Maine — A lobsterman from Harpswell had a rare encounter this week when he came across a group of great white sharks while hauling traps near Cundy’s Harbor.
Cory Hawkes, who has fished the local waters his whole life, said he was moving from offshore to inshore just north of Ragged Island when he noticed something unusual in the water.
“Anytime I see a fin or something like that—sunfish, whales, blue sharks, tuna, porpoises—I always stop to admire them,” Hawkes said. “I just enjoy that stuff. Take a picture or do whatever.”
But this time was different.
“There were like six or seven fins, probably within a couple hundred yards of the boat in every direction,” he said. “Right in the middle of the bay.”
Hawkes quickly realized it was a group of great white sharks and captured video of the moment, sending it to family and friends, including his cousin, who he described as a shark fanatic. Then he did the right thing and called it in to the Department of Marine Resources.
“It’s rare enough to see one, for me anyways. So I was like, I probably ought to report it,” he said. “I called the major of marine patrol at the Department of Marine Resources just to let them know I saw not one but a significant amount.”
Hawkes said marine biologists he spoke with told him white sharks don’t generally congregate unless there’s food in the area, so it’s possible there was a dead marine mammal or large fish carcass below the surface.
Hawkes said he didn’t share the videos with the intention of instilling fear in people, but rather just to show people sharks are around.
As for getting in the water himself?
“Me personally, if I do go swimming—and everyone picks on me for it—I generally wear a wetsuit,” Hawkes said. “Now I’m thinkin’, I ain’t going in no wetsuit anymore. Not gonna take any chances and make myself look more like a piece of food than I already do.”
Maine’s first and only fatal shark attack happened nearly five years ago in the area of Bailey Island, not far from where Hawkes was when he saw the sharks on Wednesday.
The town of Harpswell raised shark notification flags at Cedar Beach on Wednesday, after two documented sightings of great white sharks were reported east of Bailey Island, according to a social media post by the Marine Resources & Harbor Management.
Officials said beachgoers are still able to access the water, as the flags are meant to help people make informed decisions.
The department encourages anyone who sees a shark to take a photo and contact the Cumberland County Regional Communication Center at 207-893-2810 so that Casco Bay’s beach managers can take the appropriate action.