News: No Bathing Due to Shark Sightings
(Long Island, N.Y.) “No Bathing Due to Shark Sightings” is what appeared on the cautionary sign warning beachgoers not to enter the water at two Long Island beaches. West Hampton Dunes Police were notified at roughly three in the afternoon on Tuesday that sharks had been sighted at Cupsogue and Smith Point beaches. An estimated fifty people had been on the beach at the time of the sightings.
Swimmers were ordered to get out of the water and guards were posted overnight to monitor the beaches. A Suffolk County Police Department helicopter observed the sharks and the Deputy Commissioner for Suffolk County Parks helped bring the situation under control. The sharks were reported one-and-a-half miles west of the swimming area and fifteen feet from shore.
Cupsogue Beach County Park was closed for swimming near the West Hampton Dunes, as well as Smith Point County Park in Moriches on the eastern tip of Fire Island. The beaches were to remain closed until further notice while the twenty-foot sharks continued to swim into Wednesday afternoon. According to reports, at least four of the large creatures were spotted.
The sharks were identified by the Director of the Florida Program for Shark Research and Port Jefferson native who is an expert on shark attacks. They were found to be non-aggressive basking sharks, which feed on plankton and pose no threat to humans. They are one of the largest living fish, falling second to the whale shark, and are considered harmless.
Personnel from the Suffolk County Department of Parks Recreation and Conservation and the Riverhead Marine Foundation were also involved in handling the situation. Though sightings are rare, Long Island waters are not foreign to shark visitors, including the notorious Great White species. Some reports claimed that the 1975 mega blockbuster JAWS had used a man who fished off Montauk as an inspiration for one of the characters.
Police and authorities in the area are also investigating the death of a decapitated seal and the possible connection between the carcass and the recent sightings. Some say that though the basking sharks are not dangerous, whatever killed the seal definitely poses a hazard. Reports have stated that though it is not uncommon to see basking sharks in the area, it is unusual to spot so many at a time.
In July of 2009 a basking shark washed up on Gilgo Beach weighing an estimated two-thousand pounds. In July of 2010 a fisherman was bitten in the arm by a blue shark twenty-five miles off a Long Island coast. He had been attempting to remove a hook out of the shark’s mouth.
Police and authorities on the case urge the public to keep in mind that lifeguards are only available on the weekends since Memorial Day and that full-time coverage will begin on June 18th for both beaches.
