‘Jaws’-dropping encounter! 7-foot shark swims past LI lifeguard on surfboard, prompts beach closure
It was a “Jaws”-dropping encounter.
A 7-foot shark swam uncomfortably close to a Long Island lifeguard paddling just off the shore of Lido Beach on Monday afternoon, forcing the temporary closure of the sandy stretch, local authorities say.
The lifeguard remained calm as a shark’s signature fin surfaced a few feet from his board about 30 yards from shore, said Don Clavin, supervisor of Hempstead.
The toothy beast then swam past the guard without incident, but the 5 p.m. sighting still prompted Lido lifeguards to whistle bathers in from the water and close the beach for roughly an hour.
“It was very, very orderly,” Clavin said.
Lido Beach reopened Monday evening and remained open Tuesday.
The shark sighting was only the latest in New York City-area waters this summer.
Two separate sightings off the Rockaways in Queens prompted temporary beach closures last week, and spotters along Long Island eyed sharks into this week.
“We anticipated additional sightings taking place,” Clavin said. “When it happens, our lifeguards are trained.”
Beyond the surfing lifeguard, Hempstead has jet ski-riding shark-patrollers, spotters on the shore and drones in the air, Clavin said.
He said such steps are increasingly necessary as shark sightings have exploded.
The Hempstead area has seen more shark sightings in the past three years than the entire decade before — a spike Clavin attributes to warmer, cleaner water drawing in baitfish that are tasty morsels for hungry sharks.
Baitfish happen to draw sharks in the local beaches’ wading areas, where swimmers are cooling off from hot summer days, he said.
“So far, knock on wood, it’s paying off,” he said of new shark spotting measures. “The worst thing that people have to worry about is a sunburn.”
