Large sharks spotted off Cocoa Beach, causing beach closures

Beaches closed near Cocoa Beach Pier, Alan Shepard Park

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Sharp-eyed lifeguards spotted large sharks Sunday near the Cocoa Beach Pier and at Alan Shepard Park, triggering temporary beach closures for swimmers and surfers.

According to News 6 partner Florida Today, at about 11 a.m., a lifeguard at the tower just south of the pier noticed a shark "frolicking near the shore," Brevard County Ocean Rescue Chief Eisen Witcher said.

Lifeguards shut down the surrounding beach for about an hour.

Then about noon, a large shark was seen off the 400-yard-long Shepard Park shoreline, Brevard County Ocean Rescue Capt. Matthew Scales said.

"Our northern tower at Shepard Park had a shark sighting in the water, directly in front of the lifeguard tower. It was about a 5-foot shark, either a blacktip or a spinner, just cruising off the shore," Scales said.

"We immediately closed the beach and cleared the water. We do that with a double red flag. We also go around the waterline and pull people out of the water with whistles and inform them of the situation," he said.

The Shepard Park beach reopened about 12:30 p.m.

"We've been having a (shark) migration pattern coming through. It happens all along the coast this time of year," Witcher said.

Scales said seawater clarity has been excellent the past few days.

"It's been super clear. So they can see any kind of marine life close to shore with their polarized glasses," Scales said of his fellow lifeguards.


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