Crime & Safety
Another Shark Appears On Ocean City Beaches
The find was the latest in a series of sightings along the Jersey Shore that experts say could signal the beginnings of a shark habitat.
Another shark appeared on a Jersey Shore beach - and a beachgoer and her ābiologistā father were there to capture the moment.
Kristine Carter captured the image on Twitter and Instagram and permitted Patch to publish the photo of the shark swimming up on the beach at 30th Street beach in Ocean City.
Images on social media show her father grabbing the shark by the tail as swam in the surf.
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Although it appeared in photos that people were called out of the water, the Ocean City Beach Patrol said they were not aware of the incident.
Carter said no one was called out of the water because it was outside the swimming area.
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The appearance was the latest in a series of sightings along the Jersey Shore that experts say could signal the beginnings of a shark habitat. Oceanographers say theyāve seen develop elsewhere in the United States - and eventually led to an increase in sightings.
Michael L. Domeier, president of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, said the New York Bight - an area of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape May to Montauk Point on Long Island - could be experiencing what happened on the West Coast, according to The Asbury Park Press.
Two sharks were caught at an Ocean City beach earlier in July, eyewitnesses tell Patch. Eris Carmel snapped photos of the capture, which happened at 5th Street Beach.
A small party of friends and family were fishing for fluke earlier this month 9 miles northeast of the Sandy Hook tip when they hooked a 4 1/2-foot juvenile great white shark, according to the report.
Despite media reports warning people about shark attacks, the Jersey Shore sharks donāt appear to be a threat.
>>Related:
- WATCH: Shark Habitat Could Be Forming Off New Jersey
- WATCH: Another Shark Sighting Halts Swimming At Jersey Shore Beach
- Shark Sighting Halts Swimming At Jersey Shore Beach
And they certainly donāt appear to pose a threat thatās anything close to what happened in North Carolina recently.
A viewer sent Channel 6 Action News a video of swimmers at the Jersey Shore who caught a small shark in shallow water near the shoreline earlier this summer.
Brad Stokhamer and Pat Muston caught the baby shark in Sea Isle City. according to report. Muston says heās caught three sharks over the past month.
Boaters also allegedly captured video of sharks āblitzing all aroundā about four miles off Sea Isle City. They estimated the sharks to be 30 to 100 pounds in size, and they were seen crashing the surface and chasing bunker around.
The Marine Mammal Standing Center in Brigantine has acknowledged that the sightings are more common than usual, pointing to a photo thatās been going around social media of a newborn bottlenose dolphin, and noting that dead floating animals are very likely to have shark bites.
But Robert Schoelkopf, director of the center, said people should not be so alarmed by videos of sharks. Sharks attacks, he said, are less common than ābathtub falls.ā
āBut theyāre [sharks] there all the time. People are just getting more fascinated by it,ā he said. āNow people are seeing it and theyāre freaking out about it.ā
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