By Johanna S. Billings, Bangor Daily News
LUBEC, Maine — A number of local people tried to save a basking shark that washed up on shore Wednesday morning in Lubec.
“I assume it was probably chasing some food and it got grounded when the tide went out,” said Mark Olson of Robbinston, who took photos of the shark at about 9:30 a.m.
Olson said it was about 30 feet long.
A number of people tried to save the shark’s life by gathering sea water in buckets and pouring it over the shark, Olson said.
Olson said he didn’t join in rescue efforts and was only there for about a half hour.
“I would have [helped], but other people were already doing it, and I didn’t want to get in the way,” he said.
Olson had to leave and was not sure whether the rescue effort was successful, but he said the tide was coming in.
Sgt. Colin MacDonald of Maine Marine Patrol said his organization was informed but did not respond.
This story appears through a media partnership with the Bangor Daily News.