There’s been another shark sighting close to shore on the North Fork.
A shark was caught on video at Third Beach in Mattituck by local residents Donna Schlegel and Alice Thurber, who were surf-casting there at about 3:45 this afternoon.
The fish, which appeared to be about 6 to 8 feet long, was swimming in about 4 feet of water just a couple yards off shore, said Judy Barth of Mattituck, who watched the shark prowl along the coast.
“There was bait fish in the water,” she said, “so maybe that’s why it was there. But I swim here every day and have never seen this before.”
A fisherman caught video of a shark in shallow water close to shore off Iron Pier Beach on July 15.
A shark was spotted in a creek in Quogue this past weekend.
Many species of sharks can be found in New York waters, according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation. Sharks can range in sizes from 4 feet, such as dogfish sharks, up to 40 feet, such as the basking sharks, according to the DEC website.
“The biological characteristics of sharks can also differ greatly, including the prey they feed on and their hunting styles,” according to the DEC. “These differences impact the type of habitat they are often found in.”
The agency asks residents who spot sharks in N.Y. waters to report the sighting to them online.
Barth said after the shark moved on, she went for her regular afternoon swim.
“But it was like when you’re swimming and you know there are jellyfish in the water,” Barth said. “You keep one eye out all the time.”
For information on species of sharks found in New York waters, visit the DEC’s “sharks” webpage.
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