ROCKPORT — A possible shark sighting off Long Beach was reported Tuesday just after 10 a.m. but an hour later swimmers were back in the water.
“There was one call from a lifeguard,” said police Officer Mike Anderson shortly after the sighting was reported.
After hearing about the possibility of a shark off the popular beach, Harbormasters Rosemary Lesch and Scott Story responded in their vessel, a 25-foot Safe Boat.
“We haven’t seen anything and we’ve been looking,” said Lesch, who was patrolling off Long Beach when contacted.
The Rockport Harbormasters generally oversee Rockport’s four harbors — Rockport, Granite Pier, Pigeon Cove and White Wharf.
But on Tuesday morning, the pair scouted the waters off Long Beach.
“It was probably a dogfish,” Lesch said.
Dogfish are small, slender, bottom dwelling sharks that grow up to 4 feet, and, according to the NOAA Fisheries website, live in the waters off New England. Smaller spiny dogfish tend to feed primarily on crustaceans, while larger dogfish like to eat jellyfish, squid, and schooling fish.
According to Story, some swimmers were still in the water off Long Beach about 11 a.m.
“Apparently, they were told to get out of the water,” he said.
A green flag was on display on a lifeguard stand early Tuesday afternoon, indicating that conditions at the beach were calm and generally safe for beach goers.
“The people on the beach seemed to conclude it was a dogfish,” Story said.