On July 4, four people were attacked by sharks in New York

On the holiday weekend of July 4, four people were attacked by sharks off the coast of New York Long Island.

Swimming off the coast of one of the island's beaches was temporarily prohibited during the break after drones had spotted around 50 sharks in nearby waters. Swimmers were recommended to stay near the shore after the reopening of the beach.

The shark attacks on weekends increased the two-year number for the state of New York to 13, more than in the past 175 years, according to a study by the Atlantic Shark Institute.

Flood of attacks

The first two attacks occurred on Monday evening when a 15-year-old boy was bitten in heel and toes near Fire Island and was later treated with non-life-threatening injuries in the hospital.

Later on Monday a 15-year-old girl suffered three stab wounds on the left leg.

On Tuesday, two men were attacked in separate encounters, one near the place of the first attack on Monday and the other is said to have been bitten in the Hampton at the Quogue Village Beach.

Despite the attacks, the celebrants stayed on the beach.

In response to the wave of attack, officials in Suffolk County on Long Island reinforced the beach patrols and the use of drones to examine nearby waters.

Sightings in other US states

In other parts of the USA, sharks were spotted in Florida and Massachusetts. Recordings from the Panhandle-Stadt Pensacola showed swimmers on Sunday, which stormed ashore when a black dorsal fin and a black tail were spotted in the shallow water.

According to Marie Levine, managing director of the Shark Research Institute, the species behind the attacks is probably the Sandtigerhai.

Ms. Levine said: "Because of your bit, you look like sandy sharks and you like to stay near the coast where you hunt fish."

sand sharks have moved closer to the coast due to the warmer sea temperatures and have brought their prey into flatter water.

The species has never killed a person, but in recent years there have also been other, more fatal species in northern waters. In 2020 in Maine, a woman was killed by a white shark in the first reported shark attack in the history of the state.