SHARK BUFFET: Long Island’s increase in shark attacks can be blamed on conservation bill from 2019, here’s why

Great white sharks and other sharks have circled the beaches of Long Island this year in search of a specific type of baitfish that has thrived in New York waters since the state legislature voted to unanimously to protect it three years ago. Sharks swim ashore like tourists feasting on a buffet as Atlantic Menhaden’s population grows, and they come dangerously close to bathers. On Wednesday July 20, the corpse of a six to eight-year-old shark washed up on Quogue Beach.

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“The reason people are interacting with sharks more often this year and more than last year is because of conservation efforts over the years. [that] protected a food source known as the Atlantic Menhaden,” Frank Quevedo, executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum’s Shark Research and Education Program, told the New York Post. “If there is a school of Menhaden or baitfish near the shore, and the sharks feed on it, they will fight in any way possible or push other fish away to feed on this source of food. food. So if people are in the middle of this frenzy… they’re going to get bitten and that’s what happens.

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The recent increase in shark-human interactions is not surprising given that the protected Atlantic Menhaden are a “major food source” for sharks, as well as whales, dolphins, predatory fish, seals and whales. seabirds, according to the legislative note. However, Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who co-sponsored the bill with State Senator Todd Kaminsky, said he doesn’t think it will increase shark activity. “I’m not sure anyone could have predicted it would get this serious,” the New York Post reported.

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Recent shark attacks on Long Island

Swimmers are considering swimming this summer due to recent shark attacks in the Long Island area. The first attack of the season occurred in late June when a swimmer was bitten on the foot off Jones Beach. Two other incidents occurred in early July. On July 3, an incident occurred off Smith Point and Cupsogue beaches on Fire Island. During rescue training, a rescuer was bitten. The other lifeguard attack occurred on July 7 off Ocean Beach at Fire Island. Both incidents resulted in minor injuries.

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On July 13, two more attacks took place, one off Ocean Beach and the other off Smith Point Beach. The first was on a surfer, who received a four-inch gash in the leg, and the second was on a swimmer in waist-deep water, who received bite marks on the wrist and buttocks. A sixth shark attack occurred on July 21, when a surfer off Fire Island’s Kismet Beach was bitten on the foot and suffered a four-inch gash.

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In the summer of 2021, only one shark attack was reported, with one rescuer bitten in July. According to Long Island officials, there were 20 confirmed shark sightings off the island that year, a record for the region.

What does the conservation bill say?

The bill, which passed the Senate and House unanimously before being signed into law by Governor Cuomo in April 2019, made it illegal to catch Atlantic Menhaden with a bag-shaped fishing net. cord. This was an attempt to reintroduce the species after overfishing nearly wiped out the population in 2011. Englebright sponsored the 2019 bill to protect Atlantic Menhaden from overfishing.

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Despite the correlation to increased interactions with sharks, Englebright says he supports the bill but would like to see a shark safety education system put in place. “It’s having positive results,” he said, saying he noticed thriving osprey nests along the South Shore. “I don’t doubt there are collisions between bathers and probably tiger sharks looking for these Menhaden and mistaking people’s feet for fish… It’s not something you can legislate.”

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The bill appears to be working: Humpback whales stay longer in New York waters, while sharks lurk in shallow waters from Rockaway to Fire Island. “We’re seeing more sharks thanks to better fisheries management and cleaner waters,” said Christopher Paparo, director of the Stony Brook University Marine Science Center. “We see more sharks because our environment is much healthier and the populations are much stronger thanks to conservation.”

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Paparo points out that sharks don’t change their behavior to be more aggressive; there are just many more. “What you see is a numbers game. More sharks, more people, there’s a higher chance of there being an interaction,” he said. “One thing to keep in mind: seeing sharks in our local ecosystem is extremely important. It’s a sign that the environment around us is healthy,” The Post reported.

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On July 18, Governor Kathy Hochul increased the staffing of state park lifeguards by 25 percent by having them work overtime to spot predators before an encounter occurs. According to Paparo, the most common sharks in Long Island waters are Sandbar, Sand Tiger and Dusky sharks, but Quevedo points out that there is a Great White nursery just off the coast where hundreds of massive fish lurk. “Juvenile white sharks are born somewhere offshore,” Quevedo said. “What we know is fact thanks to the scientific data we have accumulated over the past five years to confirm that South Shore Long Island is a nursery for juvenile white shark species.”

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The mother sharks give birth offshore each year around May, and the young migrate to the coast to feed on smaller fish, such as the Atlantic menhaden, which live in shallower waters. Although juveniles migrate to warmer waters in winter, they return each summer until they reach adulthood and may pursue larger prey such as whales and seals into deeper waters.

However, the expert points out that sharks do not bite humans on purpose. There would be chaos if they wanted to attack people, according to Quevedo. “People would die, bleed to death and lose limbs if the sharks were there to attack people,” he said.

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