Shark sighted near 'Jaws' location

BOSTON, July 11 (UPI) -- Three possible shark sightings have been reported near Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where the 1975 beach thriller blockbuster movie "Jaws" was filmed.

The Boston Herald said a lifeguard spotted a large shark swimming through the waves off South Beach Wednesday. The shark was also reportedly seen from overhead by a sightseeing plane and was reported by an anonymous caller from Joseph Sylvia Beach.

"This is a large shark," Edgartown Harbor Master Charles Blair told the Herald. "We don't know the species. It was a pretty big fin spotted about 70 yards from the beach. It's close enough for me. We got like 'Jaws' returning over here."

The iconic movie was about a great white shark that terrorized a fictional resort town.

"I got a feeling we gotta be vigilant," Blair said. "The same goes for our sister island, Nantucket. If you see them, you just try to see what direction they're swimming."

Blair said shark warnings have been posted at South Beach and Sylvia Beach.

Wendy Fox, a representative for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said the state cannot close the beaches, since they are on public land and stretch for miles.

"We can't tell people they can't swim there," Fox said. "But we can recommend against it."