Beachgoers frolicked in the frothy waves and basked under the sunny skies at Point Lookout Beach on Long Island. But farther out in the ocean, police officers surveyed the waters by boat and helicopter, looking out for any traces of a shark.
Near the New York coastline, lifeguards are increasing patrols and developing new strategies to deal with increased shark sightings. However, marine expert Hans Walters claims that “the danger to people is infinitesimal.”
There has been a sharp increase in sightings last summer, so lifeguards and police are implementing more strict patrols around Long Island’s beaches. “It’s become part of our daily routine,” said Justine Anderson, a lifeguard supervisor. “We’ll patrol throughout the day and respond immediately if we get a report of a shark sighting.”
In the past, shark sightings have been rare, but shark feeding locations became increasingly close to swimmers during last summer. This resulted in temporary closings of swimming areas along Long Island’s oceanfront.
As for this summer, a ten-foot-long shark washed up on Point Lookout Beach over Memorial Day weekend, and people report sightings of a man being bitten by a shark at Jones Beach.
Lifeguards who work at Long Island beaches normally were expected to keep watch for the occasional dorsal fin and assess reports from beachgoers about shark sightings. However, they now are taking the shark presence more seriously.
On Friday, Nassau County announced that it will increase patrols this summer, using boats and helicopters to do hourly runs over the shoreline. Other departments across Long Island have also been developing new shark-monitoring strategies and expanding their life saving tools, including drones, Jet Skis, paddleboards, and online shark tracking. Local police also patrol by boat and helicopter.
At Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park, 20 lifeguards, park police, and other staff members are trained to operate a fleet of seven drones as part of a new shark-monitoring program. “It’s like a new world we’re living in,” said Cary Epstein, a lifeguard at Jones Beach. “In my 25 years as a lifeguard, we never had to do this.”
Mr. Epstein leads a new drone unit, and he began monitoring the sharks last summer when one of his colleagues was hurt in the leg during swimming. He thinks that a shark caused the injury.
“We’re definitely on alert and doing our due diligence,” he said, noting that they were “not searching for sharks unnecessarily.”
Many other beaches also hired additional lifeguards to watch out for sharks and implemented shark patrols using Jet Skis and drones.
However, marine experts do not agree that these actions are necessary. They explain that the sharks do not pose any real danger to swimmers. Shark attacks are extremely rare, so experts say that the shark patrols only fuel unwarranted terror of sharks.
Mr. Walters, a field scientist who spent over ten years studying sharks, said the latest hype over sharks near the beaches was “very overblown.” The threat to people from sharks is nearly nonexistent, he said, and there is no evidence that shark populations have increased in recent years. There have only been around twelve documented shark attacks in New York waters for centuries back in time. Additionally, most of them were most likely accidental collisions resulting in a gash, rather than a shark attacking a swimmer.
He explains that the increase in shark sightings is due to the increasing in monitoring and the sharing of civilian phone and drone pictures. The pictures spread quickly and widely on social media, which then called extra attention to the shark sightings.
“These sharks are not looking for people,” he said. “They’ve been prowling the ocean for millions of years and there are no more sharks here this year, or last year, or the year before that. We’re just looking for them more.”
At some beaches, sharks feeding at a few hundred yards from shore is tolerated, but once they come as close as 200 yards, swimming is banned.
However, lifeguards at beaches still have an explanation for their actions. The sightings of sharks spurred concerns from residents, so the lifeguards are taking these precautions to make the residents feel at ease. “They’re feeding on bait — they’re not cruising the shorelines look[ing] for people,” John Ryan Jr., East Hampton’s lifeguard chief, said. “But if you don’t do anything and then something happens, that’s a problem.”
Near the New York coastline, lifeguards are increasing patrols and developing new strategies to deal with increased shark sightings. However, marine expert Hans Walters claims that “the danger to people is infinitesimal.”
There has been a sharp increase in sightings last summer, so lifeguards and police are implementing more strict patrols around Long Island’s beaches. “It’s become part of our daily routine,” said Justine Anderson, a lifeguard supervisor. “We’ll patrol throughout the day and respond immediately if we get a report of a shark sighting.”
In the past, shark sightings have been rare, but shark feeding locations became increasingly close to swimmers during last summer. This resulted in temporary closings of swimming areas along Long Island’s oceanfront.
As for this summer, a ten-foot-long shark washed up on Point Lookout Beach over Memorial Day weekend, and people report sightings of a man being bitten by a shark at Jones Beach.
Lifeguards who work at Long Island beaches normally were expected to keep watch for the occasional dorsal fin and assess reports from beachgoers about shark sightings. However, they now are taking the shark presence more seriously.
On Friday, Nassau County announced that it will increase patrols this summer, using boats and helicopters to do hourly runs over the shoreline. Other departments across Long Island have also been developing new shark-monitoring strategies and expanding their life saving tools, including drones, Jet Skis, paddleboards, and online shark tracking. Local police also patrol by boat and helicopter.
At Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park, 20 lifeguards, park police, and other staff members are trained to operate a fleet of seven drones as part of a new shark-monitoring program. “It’s like a new world we’re living in,” said Cary Epstein, a lifeguard at Jones Beach. “In my 25 years as a lifeguard, we never had to do this.”
Mr. Epstein leads a new drone unit, and he began monitoring the sharks last summer when one of his colleagues was hurt in the leg during swimming. He thinks that a shark caused the injury.
“We’re definitely on alert and doing our due diligence,” he said, noting that they were “not searching for sharks unnecessarily.”
Many other beaches also hired additional lifeguards to watch out for sharks and implemented shark patrols using Jet Skis and drones.
However, marine experts do not agree that these actions are necessary. They explain that the sharks do not pose any real danger to swimmers. Shark attacks are extremely rare, so experts say that the shark patrols only fuel unwarranted terror of sharks.
Mr. Walters, a field scientist who spent over ten years studying sharks, said the latest hype over sharks near the beaches was “very overblown.” The threat to people from sharks is nearly nonexistent, he said, and there is no evidence that shark populations have increased in recent years. There have only been around twelve documented shark attacks in New York waters for centuries back in time. Additionally, most of them were most likely accidental collisions resulting in a gash, rather than a shark attacking a swimmer.
He explains that the increase in shark sightings is due to the increasing in monitoring and the sharing of civilian phone and drone pictures. The pictures spread quickly and widely on social media, which then called extra attention to the shark sightings.
“These sharks are not looking for people,” he said. “They’ve been prowling the ocean for millions of years and there are no more sharks here this year, or last year, or the year before that. We’re just looking for them more.”
At some beaches, sharks feeding at a few hundred yards from shore is tolerated, but once they come as close as 200 yards, swimming is banned.
However, lifeguards at beaches still have an explanation for their actions. The sightings of sharks spurred concerns from residents, so the lifeguards are taking these precautions to make the residents feel at ease. “They’re feeding on bait — they’re not cruising the shorelines look[ing] for people,” John Ryan Jr., East Hampton’s lifeguard chief, said. “But if you don’t do anything and then something happens, that’s a problem.”
