Possible shark sighting temporarily closes popular Maritime beach

A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.

A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.

The Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service said the sighting happened around 10:30 a.m. at Rissers Beach along the South Shore. The water was cleared for a couple hours while lifeguards watched for anymore sightings.

People were able to resume swimming around 1 p.m.

While it's unclear what type of shark may have been spotted, white sharks have been seen in the area in the past.

"I don't think people should be concerned that there's a shark in the water," said Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, the executive director of the Shark Research Foundation and president of Atlantic Shark Expeditions.

He said certain species, like white sharks, stay close to the shore, while others are more open-ocean species, which tend to stay in deeper waters.

"The data that we're getting from a lot of the sharks, at least the white sharks here, which are really the only one that can pose a danger to humans, is that they're moving through."