OCEAN BEACH, N.Y. (NewsNation) — A lifeguard in the Fire Island community of Ocean Beach is the latest person to be bitten by a shark in recent days in New York’s Long Island waters.
Ocean Beach Mayor James Mallott tells Newsday the lifeguard was performing training about 150 to 200 yards offshore on Thursday morning and he felt something bite him near his left foot. The lifeguard then swam to shore, where he was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, treated and released.
Ocean Beach is a village on Fire Island, a barrier island off the southern shore of Long Island.
Thursday’s bite comes days after another lifeguard, who had been playing the role of a victim during a training exercise, was bitten in the chest and hand by a shark off Smith Point Beach, also located on Fire Island. On June 30, a man swimming off Jones Beach on Long Island was bitten on the foot, possibly by a shark.
Hempstead Town Supervisor Tom Clavin told NewsNation’s “Morning in America” the increased shark sightings can be attributed to two things.
“We’ve seen some waters that are warming up. In addition to that, we’re seeing a lot of bait fish that are coming to the shoreline and as a result, a lot of the sharks that we’re seeing are attracted to the shoreline for this bait fish,” said Clavin.
Despite the increase in sightings, Clavin doesn’t believe there is cause for panic and his town is training lifeguards on how to spot different species of sharks.
“In addition, we have a Jet Ski patrol — the shark patrols, we call it. Our lifeguards up and down the four miles of coast we maintain are on the lookout.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.