Shark spotted in Maritime waters (Photo)

A series of shark sightings in Maritime waters has some locals speculating the population is growing in the area, but a scientist says he has not seen any unusual activity.

The latest sighting occurred near Cross Island off Nova Scotia’s South Shore on Saturday. The two-metre-long predator was believed to be either a mako or great white.

Tour operator Bill Flower of Lunenburg Ocean Adventures was taking a group on a tour when he saw the shark jump out of the water several times.

“I’m seeing more (sharks),” Flower told The Canadian Press Sunday. “Not a lot, but… I’ve never seen a mako breach unless it’s on a hook before, and I saw one yesterday on a rough day and that was very unusual.”

A great white shark thought to be more than 6 metres in length was found near St. Andrews in New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy Monday evening. Last Sunday, Sean Potter and Abbey LeFrank managed to capture video of a shark attacking a pod of porpoises in St. Margaret’s Bay, N.S.

In July, a shark snagged mackerel right off the lines of locals fishing in Nova Scotia’s Liverpool Harbour. Meanwhile, a cod fisher in New Melbourne, N.L. reeled in a 2-metre-long porbeagle shark last month.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in Halifax is notified of shark sightings 12 to 20 times every summer and about half of these reports may be false alarms, according to DFO researcher Warren Joyce.

“The water is still a fairly foreign environment to us,” Joyce told The Canadian Press. “It’s either a big fear to encounter sharks or a big excitement for folks. People that I’ve talked to, they seem interested whether they’re scared to death of them or they find them really interesting animals.”

Agencies/Canadajournal