2 LI Beaches Open For Swimming After Shark Bites Lifeguard

LONG ISLAND, NY — A day after a lifeguard was bitten by a shark in Long Island waters, both Smith Point County Park and Cupsogue Beach County Park open for swimming for the July 4 holiday Monday.

The beaches opened as usual at 10 a.m.

The two Long Island beaches were temporarily closed Sunday after a lifeguard was bitten by a shark, according to Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

According to a media rep for a Bellone Monday morning, drones were currently in the air at Smith Point and lifeguards were starting an hour early "to help with the evaluation for possible dangerous marine life."

They are also evaluating the situation at Cupsogue, she said.

Both beaches were temporarily closed for swimming after the shark attack, Bellone said.

"Notice for Smith Point and Cupsogue beaches: swimming has been suspended due to dangerous marine activity as of Sunday, July 3," Suffolk County Parks tweeted Sunday.

During a news conference held Sunday, Bellone confirmed that lifeguard Zack Gallo was bitten in the chest and the hand. He was taken to South Shore University Hospital for treatment.

During the media event Sunday Bellone said he had just spoken to Gallo, who was in "very good spirits."

Gallo, he said, has been a lifeguard for Suffolk County for 10 years. The shark bite, Bellone said, was "unprecedented" in Suffolk County. "This is the first time that we are aware of, that we have had anyone bitten by a shark."

The incident took place at 10:15 a.m. during a lifeguard riptide training exercise during which, ironically, Gallo was playing the the role of the victim.

"If you're going to have an encounter with a shark this is probably the best encounter," Bellone said, adding that all lifeguards and EMS were onhand to help Gallo immediately ."He was playing the victim and he became the victim," Bellone said.

Gallo, who was initially bleeding significantly, was bandaged up by EMTs at the scene; the first shark bite was on the chest and the bite to the hand appears to have come after Gallo tried to fend off the shark, Bellone said.

The shark that bit the lifeguard is believed to have been 4 to 5-feet long, he said.

In addition, there was another shark sighting soon after, Bellone said. "We don't know if it was the same shark," he said.

Bellone said drones and lifeguards on jet skis were expected to monitor the waters for potential dangers as beachgoers gathered for the remainder of the holiday weekend.

"We expect the beaches will be open," Bellone said. "Obviously, if a sighting occurs that may change our expectations. But we've never had an incident like this occur — and hopefully, we never will again. The reality is, this is very rare. We've never seen this before in the history of the parks."

When asked about how to allay possible concerns expressed by beachgoers, Bellone said Suffolk County and Long Island have "the best lifeguards anywhere. If something happens, they will ready."

Just recently, a shark briefing was held for lifeguards, he said.

The incident is the second shark-related injury on Long Island this week.

A 37-year-old man suffered a cut to his right foot while swimming in the ocean at Jones Beach on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Medics from Nassau County Police Department responded to 1 p.m. incident as a possible shark bite.

Police said they would increase patrols during the 4th of July weekend. The department announced plans to use helicopters, the marine bureau and other resources to spot sharks.

Sharks have become a more visible presence on the East End in recent years: In 2016, a great white shark nurserywas found in the waters off Montauk, according to Ocearch founder Chris Fischer.

But the news isn't reason to panic: According to Ocearch Chief Operating Officer Fernanda Ubatuba at the time — Ocearch is a nonprofit organization dedicated to shark research — shark attacks on humans are extremely rare — the odds are about one in 12 million. Most shark attack victims survive; bites on humans by sharks are normally exploratory.

Worldwide, 200,000 sharks are killed per day; in contrast, about 10 to 12 human lives are lost yearly as a result of shark attacks, researchers told Patch.

Sharks, experts agree, are far less of a danger to people than mankind is to sharks.

"You have more risk of dying by a defective toaster or driving a car than a shark attack, but it's perception," Ubatuba said.

There are few shark attacks worldwide, Ubatuba said.

Instead, sharks are victims: Sharks are at great risk worldwide due to an industry in Asia and other areas that rely heavily on shark skinning. "It's wiping out our oceans completely," she said.

As apex predators of the ocean, sharks are critical to maintaining healthy ocean systems.

Joe Yaiullo, curator and co-founder of the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center, said at the time that there are precautions swimmers can take, such as not going into the water at dawn or dusk when bait fish, such as bunker, are being fed upon. "Avoiding that situation is always wise," he said.

But, for the most part, humans aren't the first choice for shark fare, he said. "We're not on the menu. If we were, sharks would just be lining up off of Jones Beach, Robert Moses and the Hamptons, just waiting for us to go in. But they're not," Yaiuloo said. "We're large, obnoxious, bony creatures in the water."

Sharks, Yaiullo said, don't have fingers to feel; instead, they "mouth" things, and many times, a shark attack is "just them being inquisitive, asking, 'Is this something I want to eat?' Most shark attacks are not a person getting eaten, it's usually a bite, and the shark swims off, leaving the person intact for the most part."

Deaths from shark attacks are not caused by people being consumed by sharks, he said; instead, victims often bleed out. "If it's a big shark, you might lose a limb but again, sharks eat fish, and seals, that don't have big bones," he said.

Caution is key, Yaiullo said. "It's something to be aware of. Just as if you were going to walk into the plains of Africa, you'd be wary of a lion," he said.

Shark sightings are actually a good thing, he said. "With them being the apex of the food chain, if they're here, it's a good thing for humans," Yaiullo explained. "People shouldn't think that more sharks in the water mean they're going to be attacked. That's not the case at all."

Sharks are a sign of a healthy ecosystem with plentiful fish, clean water and less pollution, an indicator that the United States is doing a good job of managing its fisheries, he said.

The Montauk shark "nursery" discovered in 2016 has seen a steady increase in its population of white sharks, Fischer said. Female sharks tend to head to Montauk in the late spring and early summer to drop off their pups and then depart.

"They live off them all summer, getting stronger to go south," he told Patch.

Fischer has said that the growth in the white shark population is important for commercial and recreational fisheries and "so our grandchildren can eat fresh fish in the future. All those baby white sharks are our future balance keepers," he said.

Having even the one shark in the area can mean seals will eat a quarter of what they normally would, Fischer said. "Without that shark, there are hundreds of seals that can 'over-forage' and wipe out cod, mackerel and lobster," he said. "Baby white sharks are moving up the entire South Shore of Long Island" and keeping the waters balanced, he said.

How to stay safe

"People have this fear of sharks," Fischer said in a prior interview. "They look out and see a little 4- or 5-foot shark, eating something the size of menhaden or a small squid or mackerel — it's not something you need to be too worried about."

It's not until sharks are much older and about 10 to 12 feet long that they begin to target larger prey such as seals, he said.

Common sense in the water is key, Fischer said: "Don't go swimming looking like a seal," he said. "But people do that every day. They put on wetsuits, dressed up like shark food, when they are going swimming with real shark food. Those are the kinds of things you want to avoid."

Even "dressed up like shark food," most of the time, sharks can tell the difference between a human and a seal, Fischer said.

Another tip, he said, is not to go swimming if there is a good amount of activity, such as birds swooping down to feed on bait, with seals in the area. "Don't swim out in the middle of that. The food chain is happening, and if there is a large white shark in the area, it will be there, balancing the system," Fischer said. "Just think about it as if you were going for hike in the forest and you know mountain lions were tracking deer. You would probably walk in the opposite direction; you wouldn't walk into the middle of that. Humans seem not to apply the same type of logic in the ocean as we do in the forest. Once you're out into the waves, deep into the ocean, you're deep into the wilderness and anything can happen. It's not a swimming pool."

Fischer added: "Be practical, look at what's going on. Make good, safe decisions, use common sense — and enjoy the ocean."