New York Beach Closed After Another Shark Attack – NBC 7 South Florida

NEW YORK – Swimming was suspended at a Long Island beach Wednesday for the second time this month due to another report of “dangerous marine life activity” that, according to a local source with direct knowledge of the case, involved a shark bite. to a surfer.

Few official details were immediately available about the incident at Smith Point, the same beach where a lifeguard was bitten during a training exercise less than two weeks ago. No details were known about a possible victim or any possible sightings. The source said the attack happened sometime between 7am and 8am and the surfer’s condition is currently unknown.

Our Helicopter 47 showed a strong emergency response on site by mid-morning.

Smith Point was one of two Suffolk County beaches that temporarily halted water activities earlier this month due to “dangerous marine activity.” Cupsogue was the other one that closed, but both beaches reopened for the 4th of July holiday.

The lifeguard in that first Smith Point case had been playing the victim role in the training exercise when he was bitten on the chest. He tried to push the creature, which was said to be 4 to 5 feet long, away from him and suffered an injury to his hand, authorities said. It was the first reported shark attack at Smith Point since the beach opened in 1959, the parks commissioner said.

The lifeguard needed a few stitches, but was otherwise said to be fine. Authorities said someone reported seeing a shark in the area before the attack, but it was unclear if it was the same shark. Days later, last Thursday, a lifeguard in the community of Ocean Beach on Fire Island was also attacked by a shark. That person also survived.

Another possible shark bite was reported on the last day of June at Jones Beach.

More shark sightings to come in New York?

More sharks are being seen in Long Island waters, a trend that is likely to continue, and experts say that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Cleaner oceans, warmer water temperatures and a resurgence of the bunker fish that sharks feed on are all considered factors, experts say. Detection, from drones to helicopters, has also improved and reports are easily spread through social media.

“There are a lot more sharks than there were 10 or 15 years ago,” he told Newsday Christopher Paparo, manager of the Marine Science Center at Stony Brook University. “We are seeing sharks, whales and dolphins here. In the 1960s, we didn’t have sharks, whales, or dolphins.”

Shark attacks in the area have been very rare until recently, averaging one every 10 years over the past century, it reported. Newsday. Two lifeguards suffered bites and a third person was bitten in what was possibly a shark attack in the past two weeks, the newspaper reported.

The United States recorded 47 unprovoked shark bites in 2021, a 42% increase from the 33 incidents reported in 2020, according to records from the Florida Museum of Natural History.

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