Sharks Attack Independence Day Beachgoers From New York to Florida
As Americans hit the beach to celebrate the Independence Day holiday, some swimmers from Long Island to south Florida were met with a few unwelcome guests.
On July 3, sharks bit two teenagers at two different beaches on Fire Island, NY. One attack occurred at Robert Moses Beach and the other at Kismet Beach. The next day, one holiday beachgoer at Quogue Village Beach suffered a bite on his right knee, while another off the coast of Fire Island Pines got bit on his right hand, and a third off Long Island suffered non-life-threatening injuries. In total, there were five suspected shark attacks along a 40-mile stretch of Long Island coastline over the long weekend, per NBC News.
Down in Florida, a hammerhead shark was spotted near the shore in the town of Surfside near Miami. In Navarre Beach near Pensacola, panicked bathers ran out of the water after seeing a menacing dorsal fin weaving between people.
After the first day of bites in New York, officials closed down Robert Moses Beach after officials saw several dozen sharks in the water.
“There were about 50 sand sharks that we saw,” Long Island Parks Regional Director George Gorman told The New York Post of the July 4 morning surprise. "Obviously, we did not open for swimming at 8 o’clock when lifeguards came on duty."
Gov. Kathy Hochul beefed up shark surveillance in May by adding more new drones to authorities' arsenals for the summer. The spike in shark attacks over the weekend is troubling, but Gorman doesn't anticipate a more dangerous season than normal.
"We’re hoping it will not be the same pattern,” he said. “That’s one of the reason that we have all the advanced surveying and monitoring that we put in place.”
Florida topped the list of unprovoked bites in 2022 with 41, down from 47 in 2021, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attacks File. New York was second with eight last year off Long Island shores.
Attacks remain extremely rare, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't remain vigilant and exercise caution at the beach this summer. Pay attention to lifeguard flags and keep an eye open for any fins sticking out of the water. And if you can't resist some sharp-toothed action, you can safely tune in to Shark Week on the Discovery Channel later this month.
