New York State spends $1M for drones to monitor sharks, with half for Long Island beaches

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the state will spend $1 million on 42 new drones for Long Island and New York City beaches to monitor sharks following five bites in two days off Long Island’s South Shore earlier this week.

Long Island communities will be able to request a share of nearly two dozen drones purchased through the state parks department, officials said. About half of the 42 drones will go to Long Island beachfront communities — not including the state-run parks such as Jones Beach and Robert Moses — and the other half will be distributed to the New York City and Westchester region.

Hochul announced the new drone efforts after a rash of presumed shark bites Monday and Tuesday off beaches at Fire Island, Robert Moses and Quogue. Those five encounters nearly matched last year’s record total of eight confirmed shark bikes off Long Island.

 "Ahead of the busy summer season, we developed new tools and strategies to monitor marine wildlife and protect the health and safety of New Yorkers," Hochul said in a news release. "These new drones will increase the shark monitoring capacity of local governments across Long Island and New York City, ensuring local beaches are safe for all beachgoers."

The state parks department is working to purchase the drones and distribute them to local communities as soon as possible this summer. 

Long Beach city officials said they have inquired on how to obtain one of the new drones. Officials from Hempstead Town, which already operates two drones and maintains beaches from Point Lookout to East Atlantic Beach, were also reviewing the governor’s announcement.

The funding covers the cost of training lifeguards to operate the drones.

The new drones are in addition to $145,000 the state approved earlier this year for drones and personal watercraft distributed to state parks, including Jones Beach, Robert Moses State Park and Hither Hills State Park in Montauk.

State Parks officials received 10 new drones last week before the July 4 weekend to watch for sharks off shore and large schools of fish where they feed.

The drones are deployed daily at state parks about 150 feet over the surface of the water and about 500 feet offshore where swimming is usually permitted. Drone operators must follow FAA regulations not to fly directly over beachgoers. 

The drones can monitor marine life on the surface of the water depending on the clarity of the water and detect where waves may be breaking. 

Suffolk County officials also announced plans this week to spend $94,000 on two new thermal imaging drones to monitor its beaches at Smith Point County Park in Shirley and Cupsogue Beach in Westhampton Beach after a lifeguard was bitten by a shark last year.

Lifeguards on many beaches are also patrolling on watercraft such as Jet Skis and paddleboards, looking for sharks in the water. Officials say sharks come closer to shore in July and August due to warmer, cleaner water and follow schools of bunker fish that amass off the beach.

So-called shark season, when the predators migrate from southern waters to Long Island, started locally in the past week and lasts through October. It peaks at the end of July on the western part of the Island and is a gradient across the Island to the East End, where the season peaks in September in the Montauk area, Metzger said. The season lasts through October.

There are more than 13 different shark species making seasonal migrations to the New York region of the Atlantic Ocean every year, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

With Yancey Roy

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.