Long Island Steps Up Shark Patrols After Swimmers Are Bitten
The presence of sharks in the waters off the coast of New York is not unusual, said Tobey Curtis, a shark expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But there has been an “unexpected rise in shark bites on people” there in the past two years, he said, adding that before last summer, such encounters were “few and far between.”
Several elements are at play, he said. The water quality around New York State has improved over the last two decades, and more people are visiting beaches as summers have become hotter. The populations of some shark species have grown along the Atlantic Coast, and the smaller fish that they feed on have been swimming closer to popular Long Island beaches. The result, he said, is an increased risk of shark encounters.
To stay safe, experts recommend not swimming at dawn or dusk, when predators are most active; swimming with other people; and swimming only at beaches with lifeguards. People should examine the water conditions as best they can before swimming, Mr. Curtis said, because the presence of seabirds, dolphins or schools of fish may indicate a food source for sharks.
“If you go swimming out in that school of fish, you’re sort of entering the food chain,” he said. Sharks aren’t typically interested in biting people, but they may do so by mistake, he added. And if they do, people should be aggressive and fight back by hitting a shark on its nose or eyes.
But the likelihood of being bitten by a shark remains low. There were 57 unprovoked bites globally in 2022, according to the International Shark Attack File, a scientific database of shark attacks maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History. Of those, 41, including one fatal encounter, occurred in the United States. Eight nonfatal incidents occurred in New York.
Source: The New York Times
