“We tell people that if they are swimming, they should be swimming in lifeguard zones. They should only go in waist-high and that they should be aware of their surroundings,” Ocean Beach Fire Chief Ian Levine told CNN on Thursday.
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 latest attacks, a shark knocked a surfer off his paddle board Wednesday morning at the beach at Smith Point County Park, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said at a news conference. The surfer was bitten on the leg before hitting the shark and riding a wave to shore.
The beach was temporarily closed for several hours while officials scanned the area’s waters for additional shark presence with drones, Bellone added.
Hours later, a shark bit a 49-year-old man in waist-high water off Fire Island after lifeguards left the beach for the day, police said. The man got out of the water and was later taken to hospital by helicopter.
“He stated he felt a large animal on his side rubbing against him. He went to push it away and then his hand was bitten,” Levine said.
On Thursday, Fire Island State Beach was briefly closed due to a shark sighting and reopened after a drone survey found no sharks, according to officials.
Bellone said shark activity closer to shore may be a new reality for beachgoers and safety officials.
“However, I think it’s an indication that what we’re seeing is kind of a new normal in that sharks are — these tiger sharks are a little bit closer to shore than they used to be,” he said. “They’ve always been there, of course you interact with marine life whenever you’re in the ocean, but now they’re closer to shore. And those contacts — those interactions with humans and sharks may increase,” Bellone said.
Earlier this month, two lifeguards were attacked by sharks while playing the role of victims during safety training.
Officials temporarily closed the beach at Smith Point County Park after a shark bit a veteran lifeguard with 10 years of experience on his chest and arm on July 3 during a training session. The beach reopened in time for the July 4 holiday after drone scanning measures cleared the waters, Bellone told reporters at the time.
Another man, who was training for an upcoming lifeguard test, was attacked during a training session on July 8, less than a mile from the site of Wednesday’s shark encounter.
“He was basically playing the role of the victim and going out to be saved, and I guess all of his thrashing around caused the concern,” Levine told CNN.
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