Fire Island Beach Opens to Swimmers After Closure Due To Sharks

DAVIS PARK, NY — Swimming was back on at a beach on Fire Island on Thursday after officials called a prohibition when sharks were seen feeding offshore.

The Town of Brookhaven’s Davis Park Beach Facility has been closed to swimming since Monday after large schools of bunker, as well sharks feeding on them, were spotted offshore. The sightings were noted over the weekend, prompting town officials to close the beach, but only to swimmers, town spokesman Jack Krieger said.

Sharks have been sighted farther west in Nassau County over the past two weeks, causing the Town of Hempstead to close Lido Beach. A lifeguard reported possibly having been bitten by one on July 26. Swimming was also suspended at Jones and Robert Moses beaches on Wednesday.

Sharks have not been the only visitors to local waters lately. A humpback whale was also spotted, as well as several large stingrays, offshore from Davis Park over last weekend, according to a report on Fire Island and Beyond.

Humpback whales and dolphins, which also feed on bunker fish, have been spotted in recent weeks offshore in Smith Point County Park in Shirley.