King Park Beach, Fort Adams Beach reopen after brief bacteria closure

Published On: August 26, 2025

Following the recovery of bacteria levels to safe levels, the Rhode Island Department of Health declared on Sunday that swimming is now permitted at King Park Beach and Fort Adams Beach in Newport.

On Thursday, Aug. 22, swimming was prohibited on both beaches because of high bacterial counts that were higher than state safety limits. Before the water quality improved enough to permit swimmers to return to the water, the closures lasted for two days.

RIDOH keeps an eye out for Enterococci bacteria in beach water, which can be a sign of dangerous microbes. When bacterial concentrations above 60 colony forming units per 100 milliliters of water, the state closes saltwater beaches.

Through Labor Day weekend, the health agency will keep an eye on the quality of the beach water. According to officials, beach conditions may alter as fresh water samples are examined.

Swimmers can check the current beach conditions online via the department’s beach closure database or by calling RIDOH’s recorded information line at 401-222-2751.

Several Rhode Island beaches have been impacted by continuous water quality monitoring this summer, which included the brief closures at the Newport beaches. Since late June, 19 beach facilities have had temporary swimming prohibitions because of cyanobacteria advisories or bacterial levels, according to state data.

During water quality advisories, beaches are closed to swimmers, but the facilities are still accessible for other leisure pursuits.

Great white sharks are going north. Here s what the numbers say

Maine’s Scarborough (AP) Great whitesharks are spending more time in the cold seas off the Atlantic coast of Canada and New England, according to new research.

This implies that fisherman, boaters, and beachgoers who visit the northern waters are learning to coexist with the predators made famous by the Jaws movie fifty years ago. Shark sightings have increased in areas like Maine, where they were formerly quite uncommon.

Beachgoers are normally quite safe from shark bites, according to scientists, who attribute the increased sightings of white sharks to the greater availability of the seals that the sharks eat.

Here is a numerical breakdown.

Since 2020, the Gulf of Maine’s great white shark activity has been tracked by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. According to the department, the data will be used to better understand the distribution of white sharks off the coast of the state.

According to the department, there were 19 distinct white shark sightings on 47 distinct dates in 2024.

Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, was killed by a great white shark off Bailey Island in 2020, the first known fatal shark attack in Maine.

Deathly shark bites are extremely uncommon in Maine and elsewhere, according to shark experts.

Approximately 2.5 times as many white sharks were spotted off Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2022 as in 2018, according to a May paper published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. According to the report, the number identified in the Cabot Strait, which divides Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, grew by almost four times further north.

The waters of Maine are home to at least seven different shark species, in addition to the great white shark. These include the common thresher, shortfin mako, blue shark, sand tiger shark, porbeagle, spiny dogfish, and basking shark.

Some of these sharks are harmless, and the majority present very little risk to people.

The Florida Museum of Natural History maintains a database of recorded shark attacks called the International Shark Attack File. Even though the great white shark has been known to attack people the most, the number of recorded assaults is still quite small.

According to the International Shark Attack File, there have been 351 recorded unprovoked shark attacks using white sharks, with 59 of those attacks being fatal.

Great white sharks head north, following seals and alarming beachgoers

Maine’s Scarborough (AP) Before spotting a great white shark, one of the ocean’s most well-known predators, Rick Clough spent over forty years fishing off the coast of Maine for lobsters and sea urchins.

Even while Clough acknowledged that he wasn’t sure he would like to go urchin diving right now, the 8-foot (2.4-meter) shark that was spotted near the coastal resort of Scarborough in July startled him and didn’t make him fear the ocean.

People who spend time in the cold seas of New England and Atlantic Canada, such as fisherman, boaters, and beachgoers like Clough, are learning to coexist with great white sharks, who were made famous by the 1975 movie Jaws.Once extremely uncommon, sightings of the apex predators have increased in regions like Maine.

Beachgoers are normally quite safe from shark bites, according to scientists, who attribute the increased sightings of white sharks to the greater availability of the seals that the sharks eat. Although the majority don’t get that large, the sharks can reach lengths of about 20 feet (6 meters).

Earlier this month, David Lancaster, a commercial clam digger in Scarborough, used a drone to capture a glimpse of a roughly 12-foot (3.6-meter) shark close to the town’s well-known beaches. The animal was stunning and truly remarkable to see, according to him. However, he added that the shark’s presence served as a reminder to him that swimmers must watch out for large fish.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has recorded hundreds of great white sharks over more than ten years, and sightings of the creatures near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have increased in frequency in recent years. Greg Skomal, a seasoned white shark researcher and senior fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries, stated that fresh evidence indicates the sharks are moving even further north into fresh Hampshire, Maine, and beyond.

Skomal et al.’s May publication in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series found that the number of white sharks spotted off Halifax, Nova Scotia, increased around 2.5 times between 2018 and 2022. According to the report, the number identified in the Cabot Strait, which divides Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, grew by almost four times further north.

According to Skomal, the average length of stay in these northern seas has also grown from 48 to 70 days, indicating that white sharks seem to be getting more accustomed to living further north.

The successful protection of seals off New England and Canada through legislation like the Marine Mammal Protection Act appears to be a major factor in the change, according to Skomal. This has allowed seals to flourish and provide as a food supply for predatory sharks.

According to Skomal, it can be the result of an expanding prey base. Seals would be that.

Protections for great white sharks also include a 1997 ban on fishing for them in federal waters in the United States. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature continues to classify them as vulnerable.

After fishermen in 2024 decided to still pursue white sharks, Massachusetts’ marine fisheries department stated it tightened its fishing regulations. Certain types of heavy fishing gear were banned by the state in coastline areas where white sharks are most frequently observed.

“We think it’s not safe to target white sharks from the beach here in Massachusetts,” Skomal added. Not just because it might kill the shark, but also because it might pose a risk to public safety.

Dangerous interactions between white sharks and people are extremely uncommon, despite the sharks’ size and power. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, there have been less than 60 fatal great white shark bites on people worldwide in recorded history.

Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, was killed by a great white shark off Bailey Island in 2020, the first known fatal shark attack in Maine.

It is a very uncommon occurrence. However, we’re sharing all of this information to help people behave better and ideally prevent any unfavorable interactions between people and sharks, said Ashleigh Novak, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s research coordinator.

Shark sightings have gone viral in recent summers due to the advent of social media. Shark spotters can also report their sightings via the Sharktivity smartphone app.

According to surfer Lancaster, New Englanders will simply have to get used to live with great whites.

According to Lancaster, it’s absurd that they exist as surfers and fisherman, and we have to accept that. Although it’s at the back of your mind, you must come to terms with it.

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In Scarborough, Maine, photojournalist Robert F. Bukaty of the Associated Press contributed to this story.

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The Walton Family Foundation provided money for this story. All content is entirely the AP’s responsibility.

Morning Notes: Community investment fund brings final tour stop to Middletown

Newport, good morning! The 236th day of 2025 is today, Sunday, August 24. The year has 129 days remaining.

You need to know

Rhode Island’s first community investment fund will make its final appearance on Aquidneck Island on Wednesday when it wraps up its summer coffee shop tour at Custom House Coffee in Middletown.

The final Making the (G)rounds session of the Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative will take place at the cafe on Aquidneck Avenue from 8 to 9 a.m. Since June 4, the group has been visiting small coffee shops throughout the state to provide locals an opportunity to learn about the cooperative’s Local Return Diversified Community Investment Fund while enjoying their morning coffee.

The unofficial tour has given Rhode Islanders an approachable means of asking concerns regarding community investment, according to Jessica David, co-founder and president of Local Return. In order to fund community-driven development projects and locally owned real estate revival projects around the state, the cooperative is collecting $3.5 million.

As the first community investment cooperative in Rhode Island, the fund welcomes contributions from all citizens of the state and provides both monetary gains and advantages to the community. According to the organization’s website, the cooperative functions on a one-person, one-vote governance approach, in contrast to standard investment funds, regardless of the size of the investment.

The summer tour, which has stopped at cafés from Providence to Westerly, concludes with the Wednesday session at Custom House Coffee, 796 Aquidneck Ave. Residents of Middletown and other members of the Aquidneck Island community who would like more information about community investment options should visit ricommunityinvestment.com or attend the drop-in session.

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