Shark attacks surge drastically in US this week

This week in the US, there has been a noticeable increase in shark encounters. From the East Coast to the Gulf Coast, there have been numerous reports of shark encounters and sightings.

Officials reported that five incidents involving sharks or suspected sharks took place Monday and Tuesday off the coast of New York. There were no fatalities.

A 15-year-old boy was attacked by a shark at Fire Island, New York, on his heel and his toes, according to Suffolk County police, while he was surfing early Monday evening.

He was hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police, and his heel and toes were unharmed.

Another incident occurred on Monday when a 15-year-old girl was injured in the water near Robert Moses State Park in Babylon, New York, a statement from the state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation said.

Paramedics attended to the girl at the scene, according to the organisation. Authorities used drones to patrol Robert Moses and Jones Beach state parks in response to the incident.

In the early hours of Tuesday, around 8am, drones captured images of numerous sharks in the water off Long Island that were most likely sand tiger sharks, which can reach a length of 10 feet, according to officials.

In another incident, a 47-year-old man was attacked on his right knee and suffered lacerations around 1:50pm on Tuesday while wading in the waters off the Long Island village of Quogue, according to police.

The man didn't see what attacked him. Quogue police said in a statement that "the bite was from a larger marine animal."

The beachgoer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the police. Following the incident, authorities advised people to avoid the water.

Following that assault, a man swimming off the Fire Island hamlet of Fire Island Pines was bit by a shark on his right hand, according to Suffolk County police. Despite suffering non-life-threatening injuries, the 49-year-old man was taken to the hospital, according to the police.

A few hours later, according to Nick Clemons of the Fire Island National Seashore, a woman who is thought to be in her fifties was bitten at Sailors Haven beach on Fire Island.

Lifeguards from the National Park Service responded, and Suffolk County police then transported her to a hospital for treatment of a minor wound, according to Clemons.

CBS reported that in Florida, reports of shark sightings were also made.

A shark was seen in shallow, warm waters off Navarre Beach on Monday in a woman's video, which caused many people who had waded into the water to turn around and run away.

A hammerhead shark was seen in another video gliding close to a stand-up paddleboarder off Surfside, a town in South Florida on the Atlantic coast.

According to experts, avoid wearing bright clothing or shiny jewellery to help lower the likelihood of coming into contact with a shark. The International Shark Attack File is housed at the Florida Museum. If a shark is spotted, "stay calm and maintain your position in as quiet a manner as possible," the Florida Museum advises.

It states that "most sharks simply are curious and will depart on their own accord."

However, if they do approach, experts advise running away; if that does not work, engage in combat. The museum advises that, if necessary, you should strike a shark on the tip of its nose.

The shark attack file revealed earlier this year that New York had never experienced eight unprovoked attacks in a single year before. Since 1837, the state has only reported 12 such attacks.

The file claimed that the protective bays of Long Island and Fire Island draw young sand tiger sharks to those regions. According to the report, the majority of the bites on Long Island last year may have happened as those sharks drew nearer to shore in search of baitfish.

Despite these incidents, the file shows that in 2022 there were fewer unprovoked attacks than in any other year in the previous ten. This decrease tied with 2020 for the lowest number of reported incidents worldwide.