Monday and Tuesday saw a spate of shark attacks off the coast of New York’s Long Island that reportedly left five people injured, including two 15-year-olds.
At least one beach delayed opening to Fourth of July revellers Tuesday, after officials said drones spotted some 50 sand sharks that morning near a popular beach park. When the beach reopened, swimmers were advised to stay close to shore.
“We want to make sure swimmers are safe,” Long Island state parks regional director George Gorman told Newsday.
The five victims of shark attacks or suspected shark attacks Monday and Tuesday all survived with minor injuries.
The first confirmed shark attack came early Monday evening when a 15-year-old was bitten while surfing off of Fire Island, a large outer barrier island that runs parallel to the south shore of Long Island.
The shark bit at his heel and toes, Suffolk County police said, and the teenager was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. His heel and toes were intact, police noted.
Earlier that day, a 15-year-old girl was bitten by an unknown source in the water off Robert Moses State Park, which is located on the western tip of Fire Island. The teenager suffered puncture wounds but officials were not able to determine if she was attacked by a shark.
The girl was treated at the scene by paramedics, but the incident led officials to deploy drones at Robert Moses and nearby Jones Beach state parks. The drone footage captured a large school of sand sharks at about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
“This morning, prior to lifeguards going on duty and our authorizing swimming, we had a complete drone patrol. And right here in front of Field 3, we saw a school of sharks. There were approximately 50 sand sharks there,” Gorman told CBS New York.
The only suspected shark incident that occurred away from Fire Island happened on Tuesday afternoon, when a 47-year-old man was bitten in the waters off Quogue, a village on Long Island in the Hamptons.
The man didn’t see what attacked him, but Quoque police said he sustained a bite on his right knee “from a larger marine animal.”
The man was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Shortly after that attack, a 49-year-old man swimming off of the hamlet of Fire Island Pines was bitten on his right hand by a shark. He was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Suffolk County police said.
The last suspected incident happened a few hours later at Sailor Haven beach on Fire Island, when a woman believed to be in her 50s was bitten, according to Nick Clemons of Fire Island National Seashore.
She sustained a minor injury and was taken to hospital by Suffolk County police.
According to the International Shark Attack File, an organization run by the Florida Museum that tracks interactions between humans and sharks, New York is a relatively low-risk area for shark attacks. Only 20 unprovoked shark bites have occurred in the waters off the state since 1837.
But 2022 was a banner year for shark attacks in New York, with eight people bitten last year.
Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, said at the time that sand sharks were likely following schools of baitfish inshore, leading to more interactions between humans and sharks off Fire Island.
He notes that no reported sand shark bite has ever proven fatal.
“If they really wanted to nobble you, they could,” Naylor said. “Sand tigers can weigh 500 pounds and have very sharp teeth. They have the potential to do real damage to humans but don’t, which underscores the fact that these bites are accidental. Sharks are not hunting humans.”
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