Shark swarm shuts down gulf coast beach

Beach goers were forced out of the water as 100 sharks swarmed the beaches around the Florida-Alabama state line. Photos courtesy AL.com Beach goers were forced out of the water as 100 sharks swarmed the beaches around the Florida-Alabama state line. Photos courtesy AL.com Photo: Al.com Photo: Al.com Image 1 of / 53 Caption Close Shark swarm shuts down gulf coast beach 1 / 53 Back to Gallery

Crowds of beach goers raced out of the water this past weekend as sharks swarmed the coast at one of the Gulf's most popular destinations.

Double red flags flew above the white sand of Orange Beach, Alabama, about 10 miles east of the legendary hot spot, Gulf Shores. Local fire and rescue had spotted what they dubbed a "rare shark event" in the water. Authorities report it is the first time the beaches have been closed for sharks in recent memory.

"We are now flying double red flags on the state beaches east of the (Perdido) Pass," read the Orange Beach fire department Facebook page. "There have been a significant amount of shark sightings prompting us to close the water in these areas."

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Aerial photos of the area show what looks like almost 150 sharks swarming the area. Their dark bodies are seen dotted across the Gulf's murky waters.

"I was just telling two paddle boaters why they should get out of the water and a three-foot shark swam by," said Melvin Shepard, beach safety director for Orange Beach Fire and Rescue. Shepard and his team were still patrolling the beach Monday morning with no sign of the sharks moving on.

Experts have suggested they could be sand bar, black tip or bull sharks which have congregated in the area to take advantage of free food available during snapper season, ending today.

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"I think what (fishing boats) are doing is, once they get back to the marinas, they're cleaning the fish and throwing the remains back into the water," said Shepard, "Sharks are going to get free meals as much as they can. A couple of hundred 100 snapper carcasses floating around makes for a good buffet."

Social media was awash Saturday with beach goers talking about the sharks.

"I hope no one gets eaten by a shark if you're at Orange beach," tweeted Brenda Alverdin with a local map graphic showing a red shark line around Perdido Pass, the narrow waterway through which charter boats and fishing boats return to port.

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Crowds stood at the edge of the water peering out to see ominous shark fins poking out all around them.

As word of the shark invasion spread, tourists at popular Gulf Shores also headed out of the surf as some reported shark sightings.

"Day One of Gulf Shores and we have already seen a shark," said Emilee Cunningham via her Twitter page.

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Authorities were keen to stress that the sharks were congregating around a mile long stretch of Orange beach only.

"The biggest thing that people need to understand is it's not the entire beach, it's just that one area, about a mile stretch of Orange Beach," said Shepard, "Even where we are people can still come and lay out."

Shepard also points out that the closure is a conservative measure as shark attacks are very rare.

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"Dogs, cows, bees and jellyfish harm us more than sharks do," he said.

Murky waters over the weekend and the sheer number of sharks in one area caused them to close the beach and issue an alert for sharks for the first time the safety director could remember.

"The water was really murky kind of bronze. Anytime visibility is not good it's also harder for sharks to see. That increases the chance of them biting someone they see splashing around," Shepard said.