NYPD demonstrates shark spotting technology at Rockaway Beach as sightings increase
ROCKAWAY BEACH, Queens (WABC) -- New York City has increased surveillance of its beaches for sharks in the water.
On Thursday, the NYPD's TARU unit demonstrated the technology they are using to identify sharks off the coast of Rockaway Beach.
There have been more closures of the beach to swimming this year partly due to sharks coming close to the shore, but also thanks to the better technology being used to spot them from the air.
According to New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, 16 sharks were spotted between July 1 and July 5 off Rockaway Beach. NYPD says their drones helped to spot seven of them.
A member of the NYPD's drone team flies a drone about 100 yards offshore, beyond the jetties, while keeping the camera zoomed out to capture a wide view of the water.
Officers look for shark silhouettes in the water, such as those seen in drone footage recorded by police cameras this summer.
"People are able to tell what kind of shark it is on the zoom. It's a great capability on these drones," NYPD Detective Jorge Bravo said. "We could get lower. We don't necessarily need to get lower because the zoom on the cameras is good enough."
If a shark is spotted, police notify the city's Parks Department by radio. Parks protocol then prompts beaches to be closed for one hour, extending a half-mile in each direction from where the shark was seen.
"Once the pilot sees the shark, we get on our radios immediately, tell the lifeguards in the lifeguard towers where the shark is, the direction the shark is swimming, and how far into the water it is," Detective Bravo said. "Then, they make the call to start to pull all the swimmers out of the water."
Beachgoers say they appreciate the added safety measures.
"(We're seeing) more this year than normal, 4th of July weekend we almost couldn't go in the water, the sharks were pretty prevalent," said Bob Groff, who lives near Rockaway Beach. "We saw two sharks on 4th of July weekend where we could see the body. It was that close. Yeah, a little unnerving. And there was the weekend before that we saw one also, right here in front of us. So, three in a matter of a week. It's the most we've ever seen."
The drones are also used for water rescues.
Attached to the drones are inflatable flotation devices that can be dropped to swimmers in distress. The devices can support two adults while they wait for lifeguards to arrive.
Police said they have been using drones to search for sharks along city beaches for the past three years.
A woman was bitten while swimming at Beach 59th Street in Aug. 2023, the first of its kind in city waters since the 1950s.
Shark sighting protocol:
- If a shark is reported, the beach is closed for one hour a half mile in each direction from the location the shark was spotted, then we move to get aerial confirmation from drones.
- If aerial surveillance confirms sharks, beach is closed one mile in each direction for at least an hour.
- If there's confirmation of more than one shark in a group, the entire beach is closed.
- The water will remain closed for at least one hour from the last confirmed sighting, or until sharks are confirmed not to be present.
According to the Parks Department, so far this beach season, there have been 45 beach closures due to shark sightings, all at Rockaway Beach. At the same point last summer, there were 24 closures, all at Rockaway.
While Rockaway sees most of the shark activity, police patrol four beaches around New York City.
"We're here in Far Rockaway, we do Orchard Beach in the Bronx, South Beach in Staten Island and Coney Island," Detective Bravo said.
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