Shark sighting in Rockaway closes mile of beach, NYPD says

Beachgoers, beware: A shark was spotted off the coast of Rockaway Beach on Thursday, and the city has temporarily closed about a mile of the beach as a result, according to the NYPD.

Police drones glimpsed the sharp-toothed fish and officials decided to prohibit swimming between Beach 58th and 81st streets, wrote Kaz Daughtry, the department's deputy commissioner of operations, in a post on X.

The NYPD continues to monitor the waters for any additional sharks or any swimmers in distress, he wrote.

Beaches in New York state recorded at least six possible shark bites in 2022, more than in the previous decade, figures from the International Shark Attack File show. All the victims were reported to have survived with minor injuries.

A marine expert at the New York Aquarium previously told Gothamist that shark sightings are a sign of a healthy, clean ocean.

“No sharks consider humans as food," said Hans Walters, a shark expert with the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society.