Shark clears beach at Siesta Key

SIESTA KEY (FOX 13) - A shark cleared the swimming area of Siesta Key Saturday as beachgoers watched it swim back and forth on a sandbar.

Esther Forestandi posted video of the shark at the beach on Facebook and said the shark was swimming back and forth for about an hour chasing a school of fish.

She said people screamed to get out of the water because of the shark. 

Forestandi was near beach access number 7 and says the shark hung around for 45 minutes to an hour, providing plenty of camera time.

"My friend all the time is teasing me because I like to take pictures and video and now you see what happens when you take good videos," Forestandi said.

"Based on the fact that the dorsal fin is high and the tail is very long I think it's a hammerhead. It's what we call a great hammerhead," said Dr. Bob Hueter, Director at The Center for Shark Research with Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.

He estimates it's 6 to 8 feet long.

"This is a teenager looking for its prey along the beach," he said.

Prey as in a tarpon or sting ray.

"The chances of these sharks biting somebody are very low hammerheads don't bother people it's very rare," Hueter said.