Swimming resumes after shark sightings off Robert Moses beaches
Police boats used for shark patrol are docked at Robert Moses State Park, Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in Babylon, N.Y. Shark sightings have become more common along Long Island’s shores this summer and not just the mostly harmless, abundant dogfish. Since June, there have been at least five verified incidents where sharks bit swimmers and surfers. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Credit: AP/Julia Nikhinson
Shark sightings prompted a temporary halt to swimming at Robert Moses State Park Saturday morning, marking the first such sightings in about a week, officials said.
Lifeguards spotted two sharks in the waters off Field 3 at the beach at 9:15 a.m., and then noticed an undetermined number of sharks off Field 4 a bit later Saturday, said George Gorman, Long Island regional director of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Lifeguards waited for the sharks to clear the area and reopened the beach for swimming at 12:15 p.m., Gorman said.
Gorman said the sightings marked the first in about a week. Shark sightings and even some shark bites have troubled Long Island beaches this summer. None of the bites were serious injuries. Gorman said he did not know why the sharks weren't seen for a time and then came back.
"We were hoping it was a new trend," he said.
He added, "They're out there. They just came close to shore."
He said lifeguards have noticed large pods of bunker fish in the water, and they are a favorite food of sharks.
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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