WANTAGH, N.Y. (AP) — Off the coast of Long Island, drones patrol the ocean from above, looking for any danger lurking below the surface of the sea, at a time when bathers have become more cautious after a series of shark encounters.
In two days this week, five people reported having been bitten by sharks in some of the most popular beaches in New York, and therefore surveillance in the area’s waters was reinforced.
The sighting of a 10-foot (3-meter) shark on Thursday prompted authorities to bar people from entering the waters at Robert Moses State Park, the same Long Island beach that delayed its July 4 opening after it a drone will detect a group of 50 sand sharks off the coast.
“We are more vigilant than ever,” said George Gorman, director of the state park on Long Island. “We have drones in the sky that monitor the waters. We have lifeguards on jet skis who watch the waters.”
A few years ago, shark encounters were rare. But recently reports of sharks biting people have increased. Last year, eight people reported being bitten by sharks while swimming in shallow water off Long Island beaches.
“We’ve already had five cases of bites this year,” Gorman said. “And the season has only just begun.”
Even if the injuries have not been serious, Gorman and others expressed concern about the increase in shark sightings and encounters.
Cary Epstein, a lifeguard supervisor who flies drones at Jones Beach, said one of the small aerial vehicles makes three runs a day: one before the site opens, then at noon and the last before the end of the day.
“Despite the nervousness about what’s happening in New York right now, people swim in the ocean every day, and have done so for centuries,” he said. “But we must remember that we are cohabitants and that this is their house.”
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2023-07-08 04:04:38
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