Officials at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island closed their beaches after a shark sighting near the property.
Atlantis Senior Vice President of Marine & Water Park Operations, Michelle Liu-Williamson spoke with ZNS News about the decision. She said, “it was a shark sighting at one of our beaches. And this is just a part of our normal protocol that we do at Atlantis. When there is a sighting we would typically bring the guests onto the beach and then we monitor and make sure that there’s no sharks in the areas and then we give the all clear for the guests to be able to get back in the water. So it was just a part of a regular protocol that we do at Atlantis to keep our guests safe.”
The Senior Vice President also commented on whether the recent shark attack that killed an American visitor in waters near Sandals Royal Bahamian was a factor in their decision. “We have a heightened alert. I mean you’re dealing with nature and wildlife and you know that’s part of what our lifeguards do, the multiple lifeguards that we have. The just don’t man the beaches, they also look out for wildlife.”
At the time of the interview Liu-Williamson could not confirm whether beaches were re-opened.
