It was a surprising encounter.
A 7-foot shark approached a Long Island lifeguard who was canoeing off the coast of Lido Beach on Monday afternoon, forcing the beach to be temporarily closed, local authorities said.
The lifeguard remained calm when the shark’s distinctive fin surfaced a few feet from the board he was on about 30 yards from shore, Hempstead Superintendent Don Clavin said.
The toothy monster then swam past guards without incident, but following the sighting at 5pm, Lido lifeguards blew whistles to warn swimmers away and closed the beach for around an hour.
“It was very orderly,” Clavin said.
Lido Beach reopened Monday night and remained open Tuesday.
This shark sighting is just the latest in the waters around New York City this summer.
Two separate sightings off the coast of the Rockaways in Queens last week led to temporary beach closures, and lifeguards along Long Island have been on the lookout for shark sightings this week.
“We expected there would be more sightings,” Clavin said, “and our lifeguards are trained for these types of events.”
Besides surf lifeguards, Hempstead also has shark spotters on jet skis, beach lifeguards and drones in the sky, Clavin said.
Such measures are becoming increasingly necessary because of a sharp increase in shark sightings, he said.
There have been more shark sightings in the Hempstead area in the past three years than in the previous 10. Clavin attributes the surge to warmer, cleaner waters that are attracting more tasty prey fish for hungry sharks.
He said the waters at local beaches, where people swim to cool off on hot summer days, happen to attract sharks because of the prey fish they supply.
“So far, fortunately it’s worked,” he said of the new shark-spotting measures. “The worst thing people have to worry about is getting sunburn.”
