Coast Guard Warns of Shark Attacks

Not your usual pre-Fourth of July warning from government officials. It seems that what was once merely a fictionalized account of a great white shark attack along the Northeast Coast (in the 1975 movie Jaws) could actually happen: The U.S. Coast Guard is warning New Englanders to watch out for sharks over the holiday weekend. “Predation is not generally a concern for boaters and paddlers in Northeast waters,” Al Johnson, of the First Coast Guard, told the New York Post. “But I have no doubt that a great white shark that swims into your comfort zone would surely find a splashing paddle or dangling hand inviting.” In recent years, sharks near the New England coast have measured 6 to 15 feet long.