IPSWICH, MASS. (WHDH) - A shark sighting off Crane Beach in Ipswich prompted officials to close the beach to swimming Tuesday. 

Ipswich police in a post on Facebook said great white sharks were seen swimming in 5-7 feet of water near the east end of the beach. 

The nonprofit Trustees, which manages Crane Beach, first announced the closure at 12 p.m. The Trustees said the beach will remain closed until further notice.

SKY7-HD was over the beach near 2 p.m. and spotted several sharks still swimming in the area.

Though the beach is closed for swimming, it is open to people who want to visit and stay on dry land. By 4 p.m., many people had flocked to the beach to see the sharks from the shore.

Beachgoer Mary Alive Janice shared her reaction Tuesday afternoon, saying she originally came to Crane Beach to go swimming. She learned about the shark sighting once she arrived.

“I had seen seals last week and usually, they do follow, but I’ve never, ever heard of them being here before,” Janice said of the sharks.

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game on its website says seasonal great white shark sightings have increased along the Massachusetts coast over the years. Though sightings are most common along outer portions of Cape Cod, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy through its Sharktivity app has documented dozens of additional sightings along the South Shore, Boston Harbor and the North Shore in just the past three months. 

Great white sharks tend to cluster close to New England due to the area’s large population of gray seals. The sharks generally leave the area in the late fall, according to the Department of Fish and Game, to spend their winters in the Gulf of Mexico and in waters off the coast of the southeastern US.

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