A teen surfer was bitten Wednesday off the coast of Long Island, New York, making it the area’s sixth such attack in three weeks and prompting the state to up its protections against one of the summer’s beach-going hazards.
The 16-year-old was able to walk away from the attack with only a minor injury to his foot, according to New York Magazine, but his incident is the latest in a string of attacks that have affected
swimmers, lifeguards and other surfers along Long Island’s southern coast.
One man was flown to the hospital after he was bitten on the wrist and the buttocks near Seaview Beach on Fire Island.
A teen lifeguard was taking part in a training exercise near Ocean Beach, also on Fire Island, when a shark nipped his hand and chest before he warded off the beast by punching it three times.
Fortunately, as the magazine pointed out, the sharks in these attacks have been small, only four-to-five feet long, and all the injuries minor. Larger sharks have been seen around Long Island though.
Still, multiple outlets reported that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t taking this lightly. The governor is increasing its drone surveillance over the waters and is staffing extra lifeguards on its beaches.
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The U.S. experiences the most unprovoked shark attacks in the world, according to Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF).
The U.S. had 47 of the 73 incidents recorded worldwide last year — a big jump from 52 recorded during the COVID-19 summer of 2020.
But the ISAF noted that number was on par with the five-year global average of 72 unprovoked attacks annually (measured from 2016 to 2020).
Florida’s 28 attacks represented 60% of the U.S. total and 38% of unprovoked incidents in the world.
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