Drones Scanning Water For Sharks As Bitten Lifeguard Returns To Work

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A lifeguard bitten by a shark at Smith Point County Park returned to work Thursday, just hours after a third shark encounter was reported within 10 days, this time off Fire Island.

Suffok County Executive Steve Bellone, joined by Suffolk County Legislator Anthony Piccirillo, Jason Smagin, commissioner of the Suffolk County Parks Department, Pat Beckley, commissioner of Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, Zach Gallo, the Smith Point County Beach lifeguard who was bitten, and Kevin Kolar, chief Suffolk County lifeguard, said that lifeguards were onhand to demonstrate beach safety precautions — and drones would be used to scan the waters for sharks.

Bellone discussed the third person bitten by a shark off Fire Island Wednesday, just hours after a surfer sustained a shark bite at Smith Point.

"This is not something that is precedented in any way in our history in Suffolk County," Bellone said. He added that before the three recent bites, there had not been a shark bite recorded in Suffolk County since Smith Point opened in 1959.

And now, there were two reports at Smith Point on Tuesday alone, he said.

Bellone said he had spoken Wednesday with the injured surfer, who was in good spirits said he'd been surfing in those same waters for years and he had never experienced a shark bite.

"He had a message that was very clear; He didn't view this as a shark attack," Bellone said. "He saw this as, they bumped into each other. He was in the shark's environment and the shark did what a shark does. He's looking forward to getting back in the water."

Bellone emphasized that the ocean was a marine environment. "Sharks are here. What we are experiencing may have become the new normal, with more interactions — that remains to be seen, but from what we have experienced so far this season, that is very possibly the case."

The county executive also described some of the enhanced efforts ongoing to protect beachgoers, including drones providing visuals and lifeguards out on jet skis, paddle boards and surfboards in response to the "spate of shark bites in Suffolk County waters."

As for Gallo's return, Bellone said he was "very grateful to have hm back."

Suffolk County lifeguards train and work every day to keep people safe, he added.

Gallo said he was happy to be back. "This is one of the world's safest beaches and we train every day to handle emergency situations."

Gallo said he was happy when the bite took place, he was grateful he was in an area protected by lifeguards — they were taking part in a training during which he, ironically, was playing the victim — and that his injuries were minor.

"It feels great to go back into the ocean," he said. "I'm eager to get back on the stand."

Gallo had a message for beachgoers: "If you do go into the ocean, make sure it's in an area protected by lifeguards. We are entering the sharks' world and we have to respect the ocean. And we need to be in an area protected by people trained to handle these situations."

Gallo, who is 33 years old and has been working as a Suffolk County lifeguard for 10 years, admitted that when he was first bitten, there was a moment, as he was headed out of the water, that he panicked .

"I was terrified, and I swarm to shore as quickly as possible, telling the the other guards to get to shore," he said.

But in that same moment, his colleagues and fellow lifeguards were rushing to help him. "I can't thank them enough for helping me at one of the most vulnerable times in my life," he said.

But, he said again that the incident was rare. "This was just a curious animal and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

Although he had a brief moment, when pulling up to work, where he thought, "You're going into the water today," Gallo said he was happy to be back — with a story he'd share with his son, just 4 months, one day when he was older.

Discussing the drones, Beckley said the grant funding to secure them last year came from a Homeland Security grant; six pilots are certified to fly the unmanned drones, which are "sophisticated and capable," he said.

The Mavic 2 drone is able to get up quickly and provide thermal imagery in high definition. The larger drone, with "workhorse capability" has a spotlight, speakers, and the ability to drop life preservers in search-and-rescue operations; they can also be tethered to stay up longer, he said.

Swimming was temporarily suspended Wednesday at Smith Point County Park "due to dangerous marine life activity," the Suffolk County Parks Department said — a person was bitten by a shark just 10 days after a similar incident involving a lifeguard.

The beach was reopened for swimming as of 1:30 p.m.

Bellone held a briefing about a "shark-related incident" at Smith Point County Beach Wednesday morning. The surfer who was out on the water at 7:30 a.m. "suffered a 4-inch gash in his leg" and was knocked off a paddle board by what was believed to be a tiger shark, Bellone said.

The surfer "took a punch at the shark" and then saw the shark coming back around after the initial bite. "At that moment, fortunately, a wave carried the surfer and the paddle board back in to shore," Bellone said.

The surfer then sought care with a park ranger and called 911. Bellone thanked the Mastic Beach Ambulance Company and the Shirley Community Ambulance, which brought the surfer to Long Island Community Hospital for treatment.

The news follows another incident on July 3, when both Smith Point and Cupsogue Beach County Park were were temporarily closed for swimming after a lifeguard was bitten by a shark, according to Bellone.

Heightened monitoring of the water at Smith Point and Cupsogue, with lifeguards on paddle boards and jet skis, and a Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services drone on site, will continue, Bellone said.

Bellone urged swimmers to avoid dusk and dawn, not wear shiny jewelry and not go into the water if bleeding, all common sense measures; also, he said, go into the water with someone so if a person is in distress, help is close.

In addition to the Suffolk reports, a 37-year-old man suffered a cut to his right foot while swimming in the ocean at Jones Beach recently, police said.

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

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.