US (Washington Insider Magazine) – $145,000 from New York’s state budget has gone toward drone monitoring efforts for Long Island sharks, following record sightings and bites last summer
FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) certified drones are being used to monitor sharks and protect bathers on the beaches of Long Island (NY).
An estimated $145,000 from the New York state budget has gone toward Long Island shark monitoring efforts. The move responds to record shark sightings and bites recorded last summer, Fox News said.
Jones Beach Lifeguard Supervisor Cary Epstein is one of several FAA-certified drone operators who use specialized skills to observe predatory marine life. on “several miles of beach. We usually do a scheduled flight three times a day.”
The new surveillance this summer includes increasing the number of trained operators like Epstein from 21 to 33, adding 10 more drones and following shark-sighting protocols with state park officials.
“On a typical day, we would take the boat and patrol the bathing areas from west to east and east to west and keep in touch with the lifeguards if we see any suspicious or dangerous marine life,” said Sgt. Nicholas Cobis with the New York City Police. New York State Parks.
Once sharks are spotted, jet skis are used to patrol and break up pools of bait and bunker fish, so they stay away from shore.
Last month a fifteen-year-old surfer was bitten by a shark on a beach in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.
Last summer there was an unusual series of human-shark encounters in and around New York. Some experts say there are not necessarily more sharks, but rather more sightings now that there is more monitoring.
Even last August, a bather starred in what could be considered the most unusual video of summer 2022, at least in New York, when he was caught fighting bare-handed with a shark on the shore of a beach on Fire Island (Long Island).
This article is authored by EI Diario
