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South Florida Beaches Reopen After Shark Scare

Several beaches in South Florida are open again following their closure earlier this week as a precautionary measure after thousands of migrating sharks were spotted near shore.

The Palm Beach Post reports that as of 9 a.m. ET, all Palm Beach County beaches were open because no more sharks had been spotted swimming near shore.

According to the newspaper:

" 'Sharks caused the closings at three county beaches Wednesday after they were spotted near the shores at South Inlet in Boca Raton, Gulfstream Park near Boynton Beach and Ocean Reef in Singer Island,' Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue Capt. Phil Wotton said."

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University recently counted 15,000 sharks, most less than 200 yards from shore, ABC News reported.

The migrating sharks have variously been described as blacktips or spinners, neither of which are especially dangerous to humans.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.