Another Shark Reeled In At Long Island Beach

SHIRLEY, NY - Sharks apparently love Smith Point County Park. For the second Friday in a row, a fisherman has reeled in a sand tiger shark at the park's outer beach.

Keith Sloane, of Mastic, describes how it went down last Friday:

"We were using fresh bunker. Nothing was really biting and then my buddy James McGovern got a hit and it took about 45 minutes to reel in. Harold Jacobs was helping with getting the hook out of the mouth and the release process. The shark measured over 72 inches long."

The sand tiger shark, which is not aggressive toward humans unless provoked, is listed as a "species of concern" by the National Marine Fisheries Service and any shark caught must be released back into the water.

Sand tiger sharks, which can grow up to 10 feet long are actually quite common this time of year off Long Island. There's a sand tiger shark nursery in the Great South Bay. Read about it here.

“Sand tiger shark pups are not born here but migrate from down south to spend the summers as juveniles in New York’s coastal waters,” said Merry Camhi, director of the New York Seascape program.

For the story on the shark caught at Smith Point a week earlier, click here.

Photos courtesy of Keith Sloane