warnings to swimmers.

Staff at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo reported over the weekend seeing three small sharks.

And one woman said she saw a shark last week while feeding fish near her house.

The sightings follow a similar one by a fisherman on Thursday night, off Palmetto Bay dock.

He told Marine Police three sharks, two six feet long and the other four feet, circled his boat, and gobbled bait before swimming off.

Yesterday Mr. John Barnes, director of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks, warned: "Swimming at night is always hazardous.'' He urged people to report any sightings to the Marine Police.

Mr. Barnes said it was quite common for dusky sharks to come close to the shore.

But he added they were often confused with other fish, including tarpons and cobias.

"Swimmers should obviously use their common sense,'' he said.

Two employees at the aquarium reported seeing sharks between the back of the building and Trunk Island.

Mr. James Conyers, supervisor at the aquarium, who said he had not spotted any himself, believed any threat to swimmers was minimal.

Another employee said she saw a shark while feeding fish off the dock of her home, opposite the aquarium.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, suggested Marine Police should send divers to Harrington Sound.

Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer, curator at the museum, said sharks often come into shallow waters to feed at night.

"They are probably more common than they are seen,'' he said.

Dr. Sterrer said historically there had been "remarkably'' few shark attacks in Bermuda.