ITALY: GREAT WHITE SHARK SIGHTED OFF COAST OF RIMINI

(1 Sep 1998) Natural Sound Italian authorities have closed beaches around the coastal resort of Rimini after the sighting of a great white shark. The 18-foot (six-metre) shark was first captured on video by a local fisherman. And swimmers haven’t dipped a toe into the water since the footage was first shown on local television. Swimmers have wasted no time vacating beaches near Ancona on the Adriatic. Authorities closed thirty miles (48 kilometres) of Italian coastline on Saturday, and they’ve had no trouble keeping swimmers away since then. The “No Swimming“ signs went up after the sighting of a great white shark 15 miles (25 kilometres) off the coast in deep water last week. It is the first such sighting of the great white in the Adriatic -- a species which gained notoriety after its starring role in the film ’Jaws’. In contrast this amateur film, shot by local fisherman Stefano Catalani and his 10-ye