Several factors, including warming ocean temperatures, are contributing to the expected proliferation of sharks along the New York coast this summer.
In response, the state has expanded a drone program designed to track this fish. The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation purchased two more drones over the winter and trained eight more people to operate them, and by July 4th it will have purchased three more drones and trained 10 more operators, reported Newsday.
Scientists say sharks are swimming north into cooler waters earlier than usual. A resurgence in the bunker fish population is also attracting them to area waters.
“People won’t want to hear this, but I often see sharks right in the waves or beyond the waves,” conservation biologist and Shark Week presenter Craig O’Connell said in an email to the newspaper. “These animals are using areas that have optimal temperatures, ample prey availability, and many other things.”
Although shark attacks on people are rare, some species, such as bull sharks and tiger sharks, have been known to swim in shallow water. Last summer, several bull sharks were seen along the southern shore of Long Island.
New visitors to the area this summer could include tropical hammerhead sharks, though they usually focus on rays and other bottom dwellers, Chris Paparo, manager of the Stony Brook University Marine Science Center, told Newsday.
“They’re not going to come to the beach and attack a swimmer because they think it’s going to be a meal,” he said.
Experts advise swimmers not to swim alone, in murky waters, or at dawn or dusk, and not to swim near seals or schools of baitfish.
–
