Sharks have been a major problem in the Northeast U.S. in recent weeks. Five people were bitten by the toothy predators in just two days around July 4th on New York’s Long Island; now videos have surfaced showing a shark attacking and killing a seal in Massachusetts has prompted authorities to close some beaches near Nantucket Island.
The video, recorded by Nick Gault from a boat near Great Point on the northern tip of Nantucket Island, shows blood-stained water from a shark ravaging a seal right beside the beach. The seal, missing its tale but still alive, later washes ashore and is set upon by gulls. The Costaka-Coatue Wildlife Refuge at Great Point was closed to swimming as a precaution against sharks, according to the Nantucket Current.
“Those videos are pretty troubling, and no human could survive that,” Diane Lang a stewardship manager on Nantucket told Fox News. “The policy is in place now. We’re telling our visitors no swimming at Great Point. I was in touch with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and they’re in full agreement [with the closure].”
Lang said that seal populations in the area have disappeared following the shark attack at Nantucket. Apparently, seals knew it was time to skedaddle. Tiger shark schools have been spotted in some Northeast coastal areas recently, with up to 50 sharks in one school seen cruising near the Long Island shore.
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Major shark precautionary measures are underway in the region. Lifeguards are patrolling beach areas with jet skis, and aerial drones are being deployed in some Northeast coastal regions to monitor sharks and warn swimmers about their presence.
“Drones will increase the shark monitoring capacity of local governments across Long Island and New York City, ensuring local beaches are safe for all beachgoers, Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.”
Meanwhile, wildlife managers are reminding beachgoers that shark attacks on humans are the exception, not the norm.
“New York’s shores are home to a wild and natural marine ecosystem that supports the annual migration of sharks to our coastal waters,” New York Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. “While human-shark interactions are rare, DEC encourages the public to follow shark safety guidance to help minimize the risk of negative interactions with sharks this summer.”