Great white shark reported at 'Jaws' filming site

**Earl** · 11-07-2008, 20:30

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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**Earl** · 13-07-2008, 19:03

A 60-year-old man was charged Friday with disorderly conduct for allegedly lying about seeing two great white sharks off a Martha Vineyard's beach, authorities said.

Edgartown police Chief Paul Condlin said Michael Lopenzo warned people to get out of the water at the Joseph Silva State Beach on Thursday. Lopenzo claimed he had seen two sharks about 22 feet long and 3,000 pounds each while he was working on a fishing boat.

Officials closed the beach, but Condlin said investigators later determined Lopenzo was lying.

When asked by detectives whose boat he was working on, Lopenzo gave the name of a nonexistent boat and owner, Condlin said.

There was no listing for Lopenzo in the town's directory. Condlin said he didn't know whether Lopenzo had an attorney.

A second beach was closed Thursday on the island — where the movie "Jaws" was filmed — after lifeguards at South Beach said they might have seen a great white shark.

The beaches were reopened Friday.

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