The park, which had been closed to swimming all morning, reopened to bathers at about 1 p.m.
The surfer, a 41-year-old man, suffered a 4-inch laceration to his leg while paddling in the water, Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Bellone said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
The man, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue and was expected to be OK, Bellone said.
The attack, the second at Smith Point in 10 days, happened about 7:30 a.m. and lifeguards were not on duty, Bellone said.
“I think it’s an indication that what we’re looking at is something of a new normal, in that the sharks … are closer to shore than they have been,” Bellone said.
Bellone said the surfer thought the shark was a sand tiger shark and that the man tried to fight him off, punching him. The shark then circled, according to the surfer’s account, but then a wave came and brought the board closer to shore, Bellone said.
The surfer made it to land and to a ticket booth at a campground, and a ranger called 911. The man was taken to the hospital by Shirley Community Ambulance, Bellone said.
While shark attacks off the coast of Long Island are rare, officials are taking steps to ensure the safety of all residents, including the use of lifeguards who monitor the waters with jet skis, drones and paddle boards.
Bryan Lewis, 57, of Riverhead, who was chaperoning a beach trip for Little Flower Children and Family Services New York in Wading River on Wednesday, said he had no qualms about getting back in the water.
“This is the chance you get,” he said. “It’s the ocean. It’s their habitat.”
Jeanine Frazier, 36, of Coram doesn’t feel that way. Frazier was on her way to the beach with her husband and two children when she learned of the attack. While the family usually goes to the ocean, on Wednesday they were more than happy to stay on the shore, just getting their feet wet to cool off.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s not a safe place.”
On July 3, a lifeguard participating in a training exercise off Smith Point Beach was attacked by a 4- to 5-foot shark, which bit him in the chest.
The lifeguard, 10-year veteran Zack Gallo, was playing the role of victim during that training exercise when he was attacked, Bellone said at a news conference at the time, adding that the shark also bit Gallo’s right arm as the lifeguard tried to be protected. turns it off.
Gallo made it to shore with the help of fellow lifeguards, Bellone said.
A shark was spotted near Smith Point Beach shortly after the attack, although it was unclear if it was the same shark.
In late June, a man swimming at Jones Beach was bitten on the right leg, though Nassau County officials said it was unclear if the incident involved a shark.
Davis Park Beach on Fire Island was closed to bathers last week after a shark was spotted swimming close to shore, officials said.
The Town of Hempstead said it had 21 confirmed sightings on its beaches in 2020 and 29 in 2021, after having just two confirmed shark sightings between 1998 and 2020.
In 2021 and 2022 there were sightings in Long Beach, as well as Nickerson Beach, Jones Beach State Park, Robert Moses State Park, Ocean Beach, Davis Park Beach, Smith Point County Park and Pike’s Beach, officials said .
Experts told Newsday last week that the recent attacks continue what was described as an unprecedented escalation for a region that records show averaged about one attack per decade over the past century.
They said part of that increase is likely due to conservation efforts, which have helped clean up local waters and, in turn, led to a resurgence of Atlantic menhaden, known as bunker – a bait that attracts predators, including sharks.
These experts also said that ocean warming has contributed to more shark sightings in northern locations.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
CORRECTION: The shark bite victim was earlier called a paddlefish by county officials and was identified as such in earlier versions of this story.
John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, business and breaking news and column writing, and is the author of “Swee’pea” , a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy-winning ESPN 30-for-30 feature “Big Shot.”
