Written by: Kaitlin Hurley
Living on Long Island has its perks, such as living so close to the ocean.
There are beaches everywhere you look on Long Island. Going to the beach is the best part of summer. The beach is a way to sit back and relax and enjoy the view. The beach is also a family-friendly place where people of all ages can go and have fun. When it gets too hot from tanning, taking a nice dip in the ocean is always refreshing. We used to go into the ocean on Long Island without a care in the world. Over the years, that has changed with many shark attacks in our waters and sharks washing up on shore. We never believed sharks could be in these waters where kids play.
Discovering sharks on beaches on Long Island is something we never thought we would see in a million years. Now they are everywhere, and people are too scared to go near the water, let alone swim in it. Over the past few years, sharks have been swimming closer and closer to shore and washing up on shore for everyone to see. The question we ask ourselves is, why? The sharks on Long Island that people were coming into contact with were not looking to attack anyone, they were simply looking for food. These sharks were trying to follow the fish that were swimming close to the shore because that is their food. These sharks are mostly tiger sharks which are usually not aggressive. These sharks get confused between their food and a human and are just excited to eat. The water has also been getting progressively warmer, which draws the sharks closer to the shore and brings them toward the north.
It is not just Long Island that sharks are swimming close to the shore. They are everywhere and all around the country. People are posting their encounters with sharks, and they are all close to the shore. By using social media, we are able to see where there has been a shark attack or a shark on shore and where they are. Great white sharks are also being found in Cape Cod which is dangerous because these sharks are deadly. Last summer, over the space of two weeks, five people were bitten by sharks on Long Island beaches, prompting the New York Governor to call for increased surveillance from state authorities. With shark attacks being on the rise on Long Island, lifeguards are on alert. My brother John is a lifeguard at Jones Beach Field 4, also known as Central Mall, and they have been vigilant and taking precautionary measures. John told me the story of how one of his coworkers, a fellow lifeguard, got bit by a shark last summer at Jones Beach. Thankfully, the lifeguard was okay, but it was a scary incident. John says, “My experience as a lifeguard dealing with the potential threat of sharks in the swimming area has been proactive.” People are on the lookout when they are in the water, but sharks can come out of nowhere. “As a lifeguard at Jones Beach, we use drone technology to see if sharks are in the swimming area. It is also important to remain calm because the public looks to lifeguards for support and ask questions.” These drones are used by the lifeguard multiple times a day to look for schools of fish and sharks.
Lifeguards also believe that these sharks are coming into these waters because the water is cleaner. One of the reasons the water is cleaner is due to COVID. This is because of the decrease in commercial fishing, tourism, boating, and export shipping during the pandemic. As a result of the decrease in these marine activities, Long Island waters have become cleaner due to less pollution resulting in marine ecosystems rebounding. Due to marine ecosystems thriving, the population of various species of fish has increased drastically. Some of these species, like bunker feed on the algae and other small fish that tend to swim closer to shore, happen to be one of the many species of fish that sharks hunt for. Lifeguard John Hurley states that “In the future, we will continue to monitor the shark issue, but now that we have more advanced technology, the sharks are becoming more prevalent as we were able to see them more easily.” John also stated that they are getting jet ski training this summer to help search the waters for sharks.
I also spoke with Steve, who is an avid Long Island fisherman, about how cleaner waters are affecting the number of fish in the water and how the clean water is attracting sharks. Steve says, “Fishing has definitely
been different ever since the pandemic. In the years leading up to COVID, whether I was fishing off the shore or on a boat, I could spend the whole day with my line in the water and not get a bite. After COVID, this has changed.” Steve began to explain, “Now, when I go fishing, it is almost promised that when I put my line in the water, I will catch 2-3 fish a day. This is because the water is so clean, which is attracting sharks.” Steve also stated that he has seen many more sharks ever since the pandemic, and he believes it because there are more fish, and the sharks are attracted to them.
As long Islanders, we love going to the beach, but some people are not feeling safe because of the number of sharks that swim in the waters. These sharks are swimming closer to shore for many reasons, such as they are preying on the fish, cleaner water, and warmer temperatures of the water. Lifeguards are doing everything they can to help keep the beaches safe and protect the people who visit. They are trained to know what to do if they see a shark and have the technology to know where they are in the water. When going to the beach this summer, it is important to be on the lookout for these sharks.
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