Great white shark reported at 'Jaws' filming site

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Story Published: Jul 11, 2008 at 9:34 AM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2008 at 11:01 PM PDT

By Associated Press

EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) - The island where "Jaws" was filmed had a real-life shark scare Thursday, when an unconfirmed sighting of a great white forced the closure of two beaches.

South Beach on Martha's Vineyard was closed for a short time, and swimmers were kept out of the water at State Beach in Edgartown, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation said.

A plane was dispatched to try to confirm the sighting, but no shark was spotted, said Lisa Capone, a spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

In 1974, Steven Spielberg chose Martha's Vineyard for filming the movie version of "Jaws," depicting a series of deadly great white attacks in the fictional community of Amity.

Shark attacks are extremely rare in waters off New England, but great whites have been known to occasionally prowl in the region.

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