Feeding Frenzy! Watch Sharks Snack On School Of Fish In Bridgehampton

BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY — Sharks have been having a field day off the coast off the Hamptons this summer —and amazing aerial footage from Bridgehampton shows the natural predators making their way through a huge school of fish this week.

While experts assure the sharks pose no threat to ocean bathers and are critical balance keepers in the marine environment — social media has been ablaze with many Jaws-phobic beach lovers voicing their deep-seated shark fears.

The sharks were no surprise to the scores who've been following an expedition by OCEARCH avidly on social media the past few weeks.

New great white shark pups have been making a splash off the coast of Montauk every day this month, according to experts at OCEARCH.

Gurney, a 4.5-foot, 61.6-pound male great white shark pup was tagged off Montauk on Aug. 11, and Mission is a 5.08-foot, 66.5-pound white shark pup also tagged off Montauk on August 17 — and there are many more.

During the OCEARCH expedition, pings a'plenty have been recorded, with a bevy baby great white sharks including Gurney, Mission, Finn, JD, Amagansett, Montauk, and Bruin tagged and pinging, as well as blue shark Azul.

According to Chris Fischer, founder of OCEARCH, which has been undertaking an expedition off Montauk in recent days, Gurney was found in the waters off the coast of Gurney's, hence the apt moniker.

Mission, he said, was named after Mission Bay in San Diego, where Sea World has embarked upon critical conservation work and led to groundbreaking developments in marine reproductive science.

The pups join Finn, another new juvenile great white shark seen just off the coast of the Hamptons last week.

The 5-foot, 79-pound white shark pup has been dubbed "Finn The Great White" or @GreatWhiteFinn by Ocearch, and has pinged at least three times since Monday in locations off Southampton and East Hampton, researchers say.

To track the sharks' path in real time, click here.

When the 3,400-pound great white shark Mary Lee made headlines last year, moving in the New York and New Jersey area and then, spending time near Southampton and then Montauk, the thought was that she may have given birth.

New umbilical scars on the pups indicated that the area off Montauk was, indeed, a birthing site, Chris Fischer, OCEARCH founder said, with the pups one to three months old.

The discovery of the birthing site was a huge breakthrough for shark research: Now that the pups are being tracked, a whole new age of discovery has evolved, Fisher said. "Now we are watching the young of the year, watching them define the nursery of the great white shark."

That first year, he explained, is when the pups are most vulnerable. Once they're larger and older, they can avoid various types of gear and danger.

And if the researchers can help those pups succeed, it will be a win-win for future generations, Fischer said.
"They're the lions of the ocean, the balance keepers," he said.

In March, experts said a baby boom of great white sharks was expected to head to the area in the coming months — with the massive mama sharks are about to head to the nursery, located off the coast of Montauk, for the big event.

Photo courtesy of OCEARCH.