It’s shaping up to be a “Jaws”-tastic
In 2022, eight assaults have shattered the record, indicating that this year is likely to see a rapid and furious pace of shark bites occurring on Long Island.
So far, five swimmers have been bitten off the shores of South Beaches on Monday — experts are urging bathers to cool off their jet skis.
Professor Bradley Peterson, from the Atmospheric and Marine Sciences School at Stony Brook University, stated, “Let’s take a step back from the unnecessary panic.”
“We realize that you had a beautiful Fourth of July weekend, with thousands of people standing in the water on the beaches of New York. Two people got scratched on their leg, but no one lost a limb or lost their life. We’re not talking about losing anybody.”
Looking for a villain? Point fingers at the bunker fish.
Peterson said that other predators and sharks are following them, as it is easier for lunch to drive them into shallow water and escape to the fish bunker.
He explained, “They should move away and let go of something they don’t want to latch onto, and they should also not go and let them, as they are going into a bunker and driving these schools of fish into the shallows.”
During the month of July, there were a total of five shark attacks that occurred on Long Island in 2022 within a span of three weeks. These attacks included lifeguards being bitten on July 3 and July 7, two men being chomped on in separate incidents within a few hours on July 13, and a 16-year-old surfer being gnawed on July 20.
Peterson joked, “Realistically, the people on the beach should be more scared about the person who’s next to them swimming,” as all the bites in New York state last year required hospitalization and there were 12,000 of them, originating from humans.”
In response to the alarming spate of sightings and attacks near Long Island this week, officials state that a new fleet of shark-monitoring drones will be sent to the coastlines of New York.