The warning comes after several shark attacks have been reported since July 3 on beaches on Long Island, a large peninsula that stretches more than 120 miles east of New York. In the most recent attacks, a shark knocked a surfer off his paddleboard Wednesday morning at Smith Point County Park Beach, Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Bellone said during a news conference. The surfer suffered a bite to his leg before punching the shark and riding a wave to shore. The beach was temporarily closed for several hours while officials scanned the waters in the area for additional shark presence with drones, Bellone added. Hours later, a shark bit a 49-year-old man in waist-deep water on Fire Island after lifeguards had left the beach for the day, police said. The man was pulled from the water and later airlifted to hospital. “He stated he felt a large animal on his side rubbing against him. He went to push it away and that’s when it bit his arm,” Levine said. On Thursday, a Fire Island state beach was briefly closed due to a shark sighting and reopened after a drone search found no shark, officials said. Bellone said shark activity closer to shore may be a new reality for mariners and safety officials. “I think it’s an indication, though, that what we’re looking at is something new normal, as the sharks are — these tiger sharks are a little bit closer to shore than they were,” he said. . “It’s always been out there, of course, you interact with marine life whenever you’re out in the ocean, but it’s closer to shore now. And those contacts — those interactions with people and sharks may increase,” Bellone said.
Earlier this month, two lifeguards were attacked by sharks while role-playing as victims during safety training exercises.
Officials temporarily closed Smith Point County Park Beach after a shark bit a 10-year veteran lifeguard on the chest and arm July 3 during a training exercise. The beach reopened in time for the Fourth of July holiday after drone scanning measures cleared the waters, Bellone told reporters at the time.
Another man training for an upcoming lifeguard test was attacked during a training exercise on July 8, less than a mile from the site of Wednesday’s shark encounter.
“He was actually playing the victim and coming out to save him and I guess all the bullying got him upset,” Levine told CNN.