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Beach season has only just kicked off but already the ocean’s deadliest predators are striking, with seven shark attacks and one fatality in US waters this year.
Sightings of the ocean menaces from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific are up, as experts say warming oceans have pushed the cold-blooded man-eaters’ migration rates closer to our shores.
Not only that, shark populations are on the rise because they have more to feed off.
“We’ve fixed the prey base. We’re not killing seals and sea lions for furs and oil anymore, so the sharks have more to eat … When you have more sea life, you have more sharks,” Forrest Galante, a host of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, told The Post.
Considering that such prey like to bask on or near shore — Galante characterizes seals as being like “a meat sausage [snack] for a shark”— it also brings the razor-toothed hunters closer to shallow waters.
Last year there was a record-setting 65 unprovoked shark attacks around the world. America had the largest number of such incidents with 25.
There were also 12 unprovoked shark-related deaths, tripling the 2024 count, which stood at four. The US recorded one shark-related fatality in each of those years.
However, already in 2026, Minnesotan Arlene Lillis, 56, lost her life to a shark during a vacation to the US Virgin Islands in January. During the attack the shark bit off her arm, leading her to let loose with what a former lifeguard on the scene described as “ungodly screaming.”
A source told The Guardian, “I figured if we got her to a hospital, she’d have a fighting chance,” but sadly, it was too late and Lillis died from her wounds.
Last month in Panama City, Florida, a Navy employee was critically injured by a shark attack near the Naval marina. The victim was on a lunchtime swim when he was chomped.
Here in New York, a swimmer’s foot bone was left exposed after what lifeguards believe was an attack by a tiger shark at Jones Beach on Long Island last Friday afternoon. The underwater predator bit the man’s foot around 12 p.m. at the state park’s Field 6.
“He came running over to our lifeguard stand … his foot was bleeding and he was saying, ‘I got bit, I got bit! I don’t want to look,’ ” said lifeguard Kate Maio, who was sitting on the stand and treated the as-yet-unnamed victim.
Elsewhere over the holiday weekend, a massive nine-foot-long shark was spotted at Point Lookout in Hempstead, but the beach was closed before anyone could feel its bite. Partly that’s down to the Coast Guard, who have been deploying drones to monitor further out into waters and track when sharks are getting close to where people bathe.
While great white sharks get the most attention from the public — due, in part, to the fact that species was the fearsome killer in 1975 summer blockbuster “Jaws” — and even though they are statistically responsible for the most attacks among species of sharks, Galante points out the public should be mindful of bull sharks, a shiver of which also shut down Rockaway Beach over July 4th weekend.
“Bull sharks can go into salt water as well as fresh water,” said Galante. “They’re incredibly efficient hunters and hunt in low visibility water, where people like to swim. Plus, they’re the highest testosterone sharks in the world. More people have been bitten by great whites, but I think you’re more likely to have a negative encounter with a bull shark.”
Over on the West Coast — where, already, two surfers have been non-fatally bitten in 2026, both in California waters a few miles north of San Francisco — shark sightings are expected to increase due to a predicted “super” El Niño, a weather condition which results in the surface seawaters of the Pacific Ocean becoming warmer.
“During the last El Niño, we had hammerhead sharks in the California Channels, which is very unusual. Anytime you have a shifting eco system, you see a shift of behavior in animals. It affects the entire Pacific Ocean. So, that impacts beaches in California, Oregon and Washington,” Galante said.
Besides dodging hammerheads, swimmers in those places should also be on the lookout for tiger sharks and whale sharks, according to Galante.
Even in the ordinarily chilly waters around New England, blacktip sharks — more common in Virginia and Florida — are increasingly being spotted. Other shark attacks have been recorded off the beaches of Texas and Georgia so far this year.
For nervous swimmers trepidatious about entering the waters, Galante has a few tips, cautioning, “You need to make good choices.”
“Stay away from places where fishermen clean their catches, don’t go in the water at dawn or dusk when sharks tend to feed and avoid surfing around a seal or sea lion rookery” — where sharks could be loitering like overweight diners around a Las Vegas buffet.
People think, he added, that “sharks are infesting the beaches. Well, not really. They’re doing the same things they’ve done every summer throughout history.”
As shark sightings rocket, here’s how to stay safe this summer:
- Don’t sparkle: Leave jewelry and anything else shiny on shore. Sharks often mistake flashy objects for injured fish, especially in murky waters. Even bright tan lines or the white soles of feet can attract unwanted attention. “That contrast in poor visibility may look like the shark’s natural prey,” explained Dr. John Carlson, a research fish biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Pick your moment: Poor visibility at dawn or dusk makes it more likely for a shark to mistake a human for a fish, so it’s safest to swim in broad daylight. It’s also wise to steer clear of schools of fish, as sharks might be feeding in the same area. “The ocean is not your swimming pool,” Carlson said. “Be conscientious.”
- Swim smart: Avoid swimming alone and don’t venture too far offshore. Stay near to lifeguards, who often have the best vantage points from their elevated chairs and can quickly clear the water when necessary.
- Stay cool: If you do see a shark, don’t panic or splash — the safest thing to do is slowly work your way back out of the water. Fortunately, simply spotting a shark doesn’t mean you’re in danger. “People come in contact with sharks a lot more than they think,” Carlson said, adding that because we are not their natural prey, most encounters end without incident.
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