Five people reported being bitten by sharks on some of New York's most popular beaches in the last two days this week, prompting increased surveillance of the world-famous tourist destination, while lifeguards spotted 50 of the sharks off the coast of long island in drone footage.
With the July 4 opening of Robert Moses State Park postponed after a 10-foot shark was spotted yesterday and a drone spotted a sandbar shark off the coast, Long Island park manager George Gorman said they are now more vigilant than ever, with drones in the sky monitoring the waters and lifeguards in WaveRunners guarding the waters.
Just a few years ago, however, shark encounters were rare, but more recently, there has been an increase in reports of sharks biting people. Last year, eight people reported being bitten by sharks swimming in shallow waters off the coast of Long Island. Even if the injuries are not serious, authorities are concerned about the increase in shark sightings and encounters.
