Fin spotted close to Nova Scotia beach forces swimmers out of water

CITYnews halifax / The Canadian Press and Natasha O’Neill

Swimmers at a busy Nova Scotia beach were forced out of the water for two hours after a fin was spotted offshore.

The director of the Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service says a fin — possibly of a shark — was spotted in the swimmer’s area of Queensland beach, about 50 kilometres west of Halifax.

It happened around 11:20 a.m. on July 2.

Paul D’Eon, director of the Nova Scotia Lifeguard services said he got a call from one of his lifeguards saying they saw a fin halfway out to a buoy in one of the swim areas.

“They instituted our protocol for fin sighting, which is essentially we closed down for two hours, clear the water and keep an eye on things,” he told The Todd Veinotte Show.

The veteran lifeguard manager says the potential shark sighting was the first this season at any of the province’s 21 ocean beaches, where lifeguards have been on duty for the past five days.

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D’Eon says that last year there were three or four sightings of fins over the summer.

He noted that the reaction from the public was mixed, but the service will always err on the side of caution.

The director says that in his 51-year career, there’s never been a shark attack at one of the beaches while lifeguards were on duty.

“It’s way more dangerous to drive to the beach than it is while you’re at the beach for risk of harm to yourself,” he said.