A 63-year-old New York woman died in Maine’s first fatal shark attack, the authorities said. Sharks rarely attack humans but are following seals, their natural prey, north, experts say.
In the first recorded shark attack in Maine’s history, a New York City woman was killed as she swam in the ocean off the state’s coast on Monday, the authorities said. The woman, identified as Julie Dimperio Holowach,63, was swimming near Bailey Island when she was attacked on Monday afternoon, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said on Tuesday. Nearby kayakers brought her to shore and emergency response workers were called to the scene, where she was declared dead. “This is the first fatal shark attack in Maine waters and only the second recorded attack ever,” said Jeff Nichols, a communications director for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Marine officials urged swimmers and boaters to use caution near Bailey Island and to avoid swimming near schools of fish or seals. The island is in Casco Bay in the town of Harpswell, which is northeast of Portland. It was not immediately known what species of shark may have been involved in the attack, but there has been an increase in sightings in the Northeast, particularly of great white sharks.
