Swimmers at a popular Halifax-area beach were ordered out of the water today after a possible shark sighting.
Lifeguard Richard MacAulay says the suspicious fish was spotted at Lawrencetown Beach around noon Thursday and he moved quickly to get beachgoers out of the water.
“We closed the beach today, yes, for an hour,” he confirms.
MacAulay says he and the other lifeguards at the beach aren’t positive what was spotted was actually a shark, but they didn’t want to take any risks.
“We saw a fin. We weren’t sure what it was and we always err on the side of caution, so we closed the beach today just to make sure that everyone was safe on the beach,” he says.
MacAulay has worked and surfed at Lawrencetown Beach for years and he doesn’t recall the beach being closed before.
Marine experts have stated in the past that there are sharks in Nova Scotia waters, although MacAulay says that to his knowledge, there has never been a shark attack against humans in the province.
There is still no confirmation a shark was in the water today and the beach was reopened to swimmers and surfers later Thursday afternoon.
