Seven or eight sharks were reportedly sighted by a woman off Deep Water Bay yesterday, but Government officials decided not to issue a shark alert as the report, the second in two days, was not confirmed.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department was immediately informed after the woman reported the sighting to police shortly after 12.30pm.
A Government Flying Service helicopter and marine police launch were sent to the scene but found no trace of sharks during a two-hour search.
The department, which manages 36 beaches, did not hoist shark flags or close any beach to swimmers. Deep Water Bay beach has protective shark nets.
Government officials were accused of overreacting by closing nine beaches on Hong Kong Island after two sharks were sighted on Sunday. A spokeswoman for the department said no shark alerts were posted yesterday because the sighting had not been confirmed by police or lifeguards.
On Sunday, two sharks measuring up to 1.5 metres were reported swimming around a boat outside the Deep Water Bay shark nets at around 10am. They were also spotted by officers aboard a Marine Police launch.
