Sharks galore on Long Island's South Shore

The number of sharks seen at Long Island’s South Shore beaches this summer has been a concern for many beachgoers and swimmers, who spend their days and weekends at the beach. 

While some residents may be hesitant to jump in the water, others are testing their strength with rods and reels. Jacob D’Arrigo, 17, of Bellmore while working with a small team of people, has caught 43 sharks this summer, which are almost immediately released back into the ocean. D’Arrigo also helps scientists and shark experts, by tagging some species of sharks, which are then tracked by the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.

D’Arrigo is a rising junior at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore. He is a member of Kennedy’s boys’ varsity soccer team, and has been fishing since he was young. Last summer, he started working at Jones Beach Bait and Tackle, located at Jones Beach’s Field 10, as well as Captree Fuel Bait and Tackle Shop, located at Captree State Park.

D’Arrigo said he started fishing for sharks this summer with a few of his coworkers from the tackle shop. They try and fish all day if they’re able to, and if not, between the hours of 5 p.m. and midnight. Typically, they’ll fish at Fields 6 and 10 at Jones Beach, or at Tobay Beach, which is maintained by the Town of Oyster Bay and also located on Ocean Parkway.

“On Long Island,” D’Arrigo said, “we have a bunch of protected sharks species.”

These species include brown sharks, big nose sharks, sand tiger sharks and longfin makos, among others. When these species are reeled in, they have to be released back into the ocean in 15 seconds.

“We keep them in the wash, and take care of them, and make sure they swim off strong,” he said. “We try to get a quick picture if we can.”

Hooks need to be removed in 3 seconds, he added, and the shark needs to stay somewhat submerged in the water so there is still water entering its gills, allowing it to breathe. Because the process is so quick, these protected sharks are not tagged.

Working with NOAA’s Cooperative Shark Tagging Program, when D’Arrigo’s crew catches a non-protected species, such as spinner sharks, black tip sharks, bull sharks or dusky sharks, they are able to tag them.

“It’s a prong that goes on the shark’s back by the dorsal fin,” he explained. “We fill out information on a tag card, and send it back to NOAA.”

The information NOAA asks for includes things like the shark’s species, sex, and date and location of capture. When a tagged shark is recaptured, it helps NOAA better understand shark species’ population trends, stock and structure, and distribution in the ocean. According to Fisheries.NOAA.gov, since the shark tagging program launched in 1962, 295,000 sharks have been tagged, and over 17,000 recaptured.

The process of catching a shark can be long and tedious, and begins with bait, often blue fish, being paddled 500 yards off the beach in a kayak. When a shark is hooked, D’Arrigo said the goal is to have it brought into the shore in around 30 minutes, although sometimes it takes over an hour. When sharks get tired, he added, it is hard for them to swim away once released, so they try to keep the process as short as possible.

D’Arrigo said the largest shark he caught this summer was a 7-and-a-half foot sand tiger shark, and that often, he sees the same people on the beaches, day after day. “It’s a nice community out there on the beach,” he said. “We like to help each other out.”

Are beaches safe?

While the number of sharks in the ocean may seem alarming, experts say its actually a good thing. Jim Gilmore, the New York State Department of Environment Conservation’s director of Division of Marine Resources, said many shark species are now considered protected, due to a decline in population.

“They were an important predator in the marine environment,” Gilmore said of sharks. “So overall, this is good news for the marine environment and our ecosystems.”

Chris Scott, a supervising marine biologist from the DEC said that not every shark sighting warrants a beach closure. “We have to educate the lifeguards and park staff on what is a threat to swimmers,” Scott said. “It’s going to take a little time for them to understand that not every shark sighting warrants the beach being shut down.”

The best thing swimmers can do, experts said, is follow protocol and listen to lifeguards. “As scary as these bites sound, they are bites,” Gilmore said. “Every one of the five we’ve had this year, the animal bit and let go right away. We’re not seeing these large, scary sharks you see on Shark Week.”

Michael Malaszczyk contributed to this story.