Wells is closing its beaches to swimmers after another shark sighting Wednesday morning.
A 10-foot juvenile great white shark was spotted about 500 yards off Wells Beach, according to the Wells Fire Department.
Lifeguards will be flying the purple warning flag all day Wednesday. The town’s beaches will remain closed to swimming as long as the purple flag flies.
That comes on the heels of a spate of shark sightings from Scarborough to Georgetown, where Reid State Park closed its beaches earlier this week. The state park reopened its beaches Tuesday, according to the town of Georgetown.
While there has largely been no aggression toward swimmers and boaters, a white shark pulled a Scarborough lifeguard a few feet underwater when it grabbed his torpedo buoy. The lifeguard made it safely to shore.
Just over six years ago, Maine recorded its first fatal shark attack when a great white shark bit Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City while she was swimming in Mackerel Cove off Bailey Island in Harpswell.
The Maine coast is at the northern edge of the great white shark’s range, but the fish are not commonly spotted off Maine.
Sightings are common from May to December, which peak from July to September.
As the Gulf of Maine continues to warm, some scientists have said such sightings could become more common in coming years, particularly as the sharks are attracted to the resurgent seal population off New England.