hammet
Contributor
https://nypost.com/2020/06/29/shark-shows-up-at-rockaway-beach-just-days-before-reopening/
Just in time!
A shark showed up at Rockaway Beach on Monday — just two days before swimming is set to resume at the popular summer hot-spot.
Local Regina Cantoni was near Beach 100 at around 2:30 p.m. when she spotted a fin in the clear waters, just 10 to 15 feet away from where she was sitting on the sand.
Hundreds of beachgoers then waved off social distancing protocols as they swarmed toward the big fish, she said.
“The whole beach came to the shore… and started screaming ‘Shark!'” she told The Post.
“It was endless,” she added. “Everyone wanted to get a shot of the shark.”
The 43-year-old real estate agent followed the fin east, where at one point, the shark seemed to be letting itself wash up on shore with the tide.
“It looked hurt because I could spot some blood on the body,” Cantoni said.
Photos posted on Twitter by the Rockaway Times showed the approximately 7-foot sea creature on the sand, splattered in blood.
The Parks Department said the Thresher shark was injured after getting caught on a jetty at Beach 86, and later died.
The animal washed up ashore at Beach 102, the spokeswoman said, adding that “Parks staff removed and properly disposed of the body.”
The incident came as the Big Apple’s eight public beaches are set to reopen for swimming on Wednesday. The city’s 14-miles of beaches have been open to sunbathers, but due to coronavirus restrictions, swimming was prohibited.
This may have been a good thing on Monday, as it meant that sun worshippers weren’t in the waters when the shark came by.
“Everyone was freaked out especially because it was so close to shore,” Cantoni said.
The local said she was even threatened with a ticket for being ankle-deep in the ocean as she tried to capture the moment, while trying to stay away from the crowd.
It was her first shark sighting in 10 years of frequenting Rockaway Beach — and she said it’ll make her think twice before going in the water in the future.
Sorry bout the Chief Brody gif. Had to do it.
Also, Hooper drives the boat, chief.
Just in time!
A shark showed up at Rockaway Beach on Monday — just two days before swimming is set to resume at the popular summer hot-spot.
Local Regina Cantoni was near Beach 100 at around 2:30 p.m. when she spotted a fin in the clear waters, just 10 to 15 feet away from where she was sitting on the sand.
Hundreds of beachgoers then waved off social distancing protocols as they swarmed toward the big fish, she said.
“The whole beach came to the shore… and started screaming ‘Shark!'” she told The Post.
“It was endless,” she added. “Everyone wanted to get a shot of the shark.”
The 43-year-old real estate agent followed the fin east, where at one point, the shark seemed to be letting itself wash up on shore with the tide.
“It looked hurt because I could spot some blood on the body,” Cantoni said.
Photos posted on Twitter by the Rockaway Times showed the approximately 7-foot sea creature on the sand, splattered in blood.
The Parks Department said the Thresher shark was injured after getting caught on a jetty at Beach 86, and later died.
The animal washed up ashore at Beach 102, the spokeswoman said, adding that “Parks staff removed and properly disposed of the body.”
The incident came as the Big Apple’s eight public beaches are set to reopen for swimming on Wednesday. The city’s 14-miles of beaches have been open to sunbathers, but due to coronavirus restrictions, swimming was prohibited.
This may have been a good thing on Monday, as it meant that sun worshippers weren’t in the waters when the shark came by.
“Everyone was freaked out especially because it was so close to shore,” Cantoni said.
The local said she was even threatened with a ticket for being ankle-deep in the ocean as she tried to capture the moment, while trying to stay away from the crowd.
It was her first shark sighting in 10 years of frequenting Rockaway Beach — and she said it’ll make her think twice before going in the water in the future.
Sorry bout the Chief Brody gif. Had to do it.
Also, Hooper drives the boat, chief.
