There are sharks out there - somewhere

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accepted a reporter’s dare last Sunday and jumped into the Atlantic Ocean off Nickerson Beach – and came out unscathed.

Blakeman took a quick dip after two shark incidents – one a bight and the other a sighting - off Nassau’s South Shore waters, and unconfirmed reports of other sightings.

Nassau County officials reported that there was a suspected shark attack on June 30 off Jones Beach. A swimmer was taken by Nassau County police to Nassau University Medical Center. Another suspected attack was reported in Suffolk County a week ago

Some – not us – said Blakeman was grandstanding. But he had been dared and he did want to demonstrate that Nassau’s South Shore waters were not akin to the 1975 hit movie “Jaws,” where beaches are closed and a hunt is on for a person-eating shark. But that was a movie!

Earlier this week, Sen. Chuck Schumer couldn’t resist casting his line. In a press release, Schumer proclaimed there were ‘three shark attacks within weeks in Long Island waters.” He released a letter he sent to Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urging the agency to “prioritize the deployment of additional shark monitoring an detection resources on the shores of Long Island.”

Schumer’s office said two lifeguards had been bitten by sharks off Fire Island, and a third attack took place off Jones Beach.

Despite comments from marine experts that shark attacks are extremely rare, some television news programs and newspapers – not ours – went Page One with the story, even quoting those same experts who called those news reports hype.

After his dip, Blakeman told assembled reporters, “I’m here today to stress that it is relatively safe to go in the water, but you have to take precautions he said. 

Hempstead town supervisor Don Clavin also weighed in last week, saying, that Hempstead town shark patrols and lifeguard staffs are on “heightened alert” as Nassau’s swimming season gets into full gear. Nassau County has also stepped up its shark patrols in recent years, using helicopters, drones and watercraft and beach vehicles to spot sharks.

In a statement, Clavin said, “The Town of Hempstead was among the first municipalities in New York State to establish a Shark Patrol in 2020 after numerous shark sightings were reported off town beaches and throughout Long Island”.

Christoper Paparo, manager of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the State University at Stony Brook, said he saw little cause for general alarm. Warmer temperatures and more bait fish in Nassau’s South Shore waters have resulted in an increase in shark sightings in recent years, but Paparo added that we have looked harder for them, too.

One-hundred-pound sand tiger sharks and 140-pound sand bar sharks have been making a comeback to Northeastern waters as pollution has decreased in recent years, Paparo said. In a way, he said, the appearance of those sharks shows that our waters are becoming cleaner. Dolphins, too, are becoming more common in local waters.

“We have a healthier eco-system,” Papao said.

He noted that in New York State, there are, on average about 1,000 fatal car accidents per year. “You have a better chance of getting hurt in your car than even in seeing a shark,” Paparo said.

Still, he said, “Would I want to be bitten by a shark? No.” There are precautions: try to swim with others around, If you see bunker (shark feed) in the water, stay on the beach till the feed drifts away. Swim in a beach where there are lifeguards.

Avoid scary shark films.