It seems to be the summer of sharks for residents living in Long Island, New York, especially those who frequent the beaches in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. While summers on Long Island are usually full of vineyard tours, sandy beach days, and carefree seafood lunches, summer 2020 looks a bit different. While Jaws was a fictional movie that was only inspired by both Long Island and Cape Cod, no one would expect to find a seven-foot, 400-pound bull shark swimming right off the beach... Until now.The shark activity in this lesser-known part of New York is certainly unprecedented, and experts say they haven't seen the said bull shark this close to Long Island's shores in at least four years. In a statement given by, Don Clavin, the Town Supervisor of Hempstead: "We've added more lifeguards on the stands, surfboards and added this week jet ski patrols again to monitor the shoreline because again that's where these sharks like to go and that's particularly dangerous for swimmers."
Nassau County Shark Sightings
The first significant sighting - and the one that started it all - was near Lido Beach in Long Beach. The shark, estimated to be between seven and ten feet long, was cause for concern as swimmers were ordered to evacuate the water immediately. While shark attacks are unusual, the shark swimming so close to the shoreline was enough justification for lifeguards to close the water to swimmers.
At the end of July, an eight-foot bull shark, weighing nearly 400 pounds, was caught by TJ Minutillo, a college student, on Nickerson Beach. According to Minutillo, who claimed that most of the time these sharks are "harmless," this was the largest he's ever seen.
As the week went on, more sharks were spotted near Nickerson Beach, prompting officials to close the water completely to swimmers. A shark spotted by lifeguards was estimated to be roughly six feet long and swimming as close as 15 feet off the beach. Laura Curran, Nassau County Exective, said aerial helicopters have been assigned to patrol the water from the air in the event of other shark sightings. She went on to say, "We have to remind everyone that most sharks are not looking for trouble, and shark attacks are still extremely rare," but they "have aggressive tendencies, and they do prefer shallow water, and that means they can come into contact with humans."
Most recently, again at Lido Beach, swimmers were pulled out of the water due to a shark that appeared to be going after prey near the shore. Some nearby beach-goers noticed the splash the shark made and ran out of the water. Point Lookout and Long Beach have also been added to the shark-sighting list. Currently, Nassau County is going on their sixth day of consistant shark sightings.
Suffolk County Sharks
Nassau isn't the only part of Long Island that has had encounters with this predatory species. Earlier in July, the Great White known as Miss May was being tracked off the coast of Montauk. It's not uncommon for Great Whites to travel to the coastline during the spring season and early on in the summer to drop off their pups, and experts say there are currently a bunch in the area. While Great Whites usually continute to make their way up north after pinging off the coast of Montauk, some residents do have reseravations about jumping in the water.
It's quite unusual and highly unlikely that a shark would go after a human as they're more drawn to their natural food sources, such as seals. In an event such as this, it would probably be a case of mistaken identity as humans in wetsuits can often mimick the appearance of dark-colored seals sitting in the water. Recently, a woman from New York City was swimming off the coast of Maine with her daughter and was attacked by a Great White. Tragically, she didn't survive, and it has become the first fatal shark attack ever in the state of Maine. This news has those on the east coast using an abundance of caution when it comes to deep water and swimming in areas where sharks have been spotted.
In Hampton Bays, a shark was recorded swimming right up to the beach, which became an alarming video to some beach-goers.
In East Hampton, a shark was spotted swimming in the midst of a school of dolphin and a school of bunker fish. As the lifeguard continued to watch the shark, it swam in between Georgica and Main beaches, and then suddenly disappeared. While the water was cleared of visitors immediately afterward, the shark was not able to be located, so beaches have remained open for swimmers.