Sharks spotted at Jones Beach and Robert Moses; temporarily halting swimming at multiple beaches

Multiple sharks were spotted in Long Island waters Tuesday, temporarily shutting down swimming at several beaches.

News 12 Staff

Aug 3, 2022, 7:32 PM

Updated 798 days ago

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Multiple sharks were spotted in Long Island waters Tuesday, temporarily shutting down swimming at several beaches.
New York State Parks Long Island Regional Director George Gorman says three sharks were seen off of Central Mall at Jones Beach. Swimming was prohibited at that site, as well as East Bathhouse and West Bathhouse.
Swimming at all areas of Jones Beach reopened by 4:55 p.m.
"We just tell people, 'Stay close to shore, if you're uncomfortable at all, wade into the water,'" Gorman says. "When we prohibit swimming, we don't prohibit wading into the water, we know sharks aren't going to come that close, we know sharks aren't going to beach themselves on the sand."
Earlier Tuesday morning, sharks were spotted feeding on a large number of bunker fish at Robert Moses State Park.
Swimming was prohibited for a few hours at fields 2 through 5.
Beachgoers tell News 12 that while they were disappointed about not being able to spend more time in the ocean, saying the sharks don't worry them.
Photo: Still taken from July 18 state parks lifeguard drone video of a shark chasing a school of fish in the waters off Jones Beach last week.