The grim find was made between Mill Lane and St Medans on Tuesday morning, officers said today.
Detective Inspector Dean Little, of Police Scotland, said: “At this early stage it does appear that the body is that of a female, however it will be some time before we are able to give out any more details. The body has been removed from the shore and a post mortem has been arranged. The Procurator Fiscal has been notified.
“At this stage we are conducting missing persons enquiries with neighbouring forces and also on a national basis. We do not have any reports of local missing persons in the Dumfries and Galloway area at this time.”