Nassau County announces heightened safety measures following shark bite at Jones Beach
The safety measures come ahead of what is expected to be an incredibly busy week for beachgoers along the shore.
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Nassau officials are stepping up safety measures at all county beaches after a woman was bitten by a shark at Jones Beach last week.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, County Parks Commissioner Darcy Belyea and County Police officials said they will have drones, a helicopter and the Marine Bureau Boat on hand.
Some beachgoers welcomed any type of extra protection.
"If I see that there are warnings, I stay away," West Islip resident Richard Haimes said. "[The sharks] belong there and I don't."
The group shared ocean safety tips to protect residents against rip currents and other dangers associated with ocean swimming. They reminded swimmers to only swim when a lifeguard is on duty, to use the buddy system, to avoid swimming after dusk and not to try to fight rip currents.
Blakeman reminded beachgoers to follow common-sense rules.
On average, 71 people die in rip current drownings each year, according to the National Weather Service. The federal agency has preliminarily reported 33 surf zone fatalities across the U.S. this year, but none in New York.
Beaches are expected to see a surge of visitors between the start of summer vacation now that schools across the island are out and ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend.
"It is good that they do shark patrols because then you know if there are a decent amount of sharks, but I think normally I don't think it's really a concern along Long Island," Massapequa resident Brian Doherty said.
State officials said a 20-year-old woman was swimming in waist-deep water at Jones Beach on June 25 when she was most likely bitten by a young sand tiger shark.
The incident has both lifeguards and beachgoers on high alert.
In the future, Long Island beachgoers may not have to worry about sharks coming too close to shore.
Dr. Craig O’Connell is the executive director of Montauk Shark Lab and the creator of the technology called the “shark excursion barrier.”
The barrier - there is one off Cape Cod and one off of Montauk - is made of piping and electromagnets and keeps sharks away.
O’Connell said he wanted to develop something that doesn’t kill sharks, something that protects marine life and keeps people and sharks separate.
He said he hopes to publish findings from his trials and ultimately share them with the world.
