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NYC shark sightings: All Rockaway beaches closed to swimming

By FOX 5 NY Staff
Updated  July 20, 2022 5:15am EDT
The Rockaways
FOX 5 NY

Shark sightings close Rockaway beaches

The beaches off the Rockaways have been closed to swimmers after sharks were spotted in the waters nearby. SkyFOX spotted two sharks off shore near Breezy Point.

NEW YORK - The NYPD announced Tuesday afternoon that all beaches in the Rockaways were closed to swimming due to shark sightings.

A pair of sharks were reportedly sighted in the area during the day, prompting the closure of all seven miles of the beachfront to swimmers.

RELATED: Shark patrols to increase at Long Island beaches

NYPD Aviation was undertaking aerial surveillance of the area, and the beach were to be reopened when it was deemed safe. 

Tuesday's sighting is the latest in a string of shark sightings and attacks across the region.

Monday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she was ordering more drone and helicopter monitoring in the waters at Long Island State Park beaches after multiple recent incidents, including a surfer being bitten by a sand tiger shark in the water off Smith Point County Park in Suffolk County last week.