Photo: AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek
Two shark attacks were reported within 12 hours of one another off Long Island this week.
That morning,another shark attack was reported off Smith Point Beach, which is also on Fire Island. That attack happened around 7:30 a.m., when a paddle boarder was knocked off their board and bit on the leg, leaving behind a four-inch long gash, according toABC NewsandNBC News. The shark involved in Wednesday morning’s incident was identified as a tiger shark, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. The victim believes the shark was about 4 feet in length.
The paddle boarder claims to have tried punching the shark after falling into the water, but later saw the shark turn back around, at which time “the initial bite occurred,” Bellone explained.
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“At that moment, fortunately, a wave carried the surfer and the paddle board onto shore, and that was the last contact with the shark,” the Suffolk County executive said.
The beach reopened at 1:30 p.m., the department said in a subsequentpost.
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Bellone said Wednesday morning that the incident serves as “an indication that what we are looking at is something of a new normal,” according to ABC News.
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On Wednesday, Bellone warned of the dangers of entering the ocean without a lifeguard on duty, as the victim in that morning’s attack did.
He also highlighted some “common-sense precautions” for beachgoers, such as not venturing too far away from shore, avoiding the water while bleeding and wearing “shiny jewelry.”
With sharks getting “closer to shore than they’ve been,” Bellone said it is important to be on the lookout for the animals. As a result, he said, human and shark interactions “may increase” in the area.
“Fortunately, we have not seen any significant injuries, nor do we expect that with the sharks that we’ve seen or that we’re talking about,” he told reporters. “But it is something for us to be aware of and conscious of.”
source: people.com
