Jones Beach reopens for swimming following possible shark sighting 

Jones Beach reopened for swimming Wednesday, a day after sightings of a possible shark and school of bait and bunker fish brought swimming to a halt at several beaches there.

George Gorman, regional director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which manages state beaches, said officials approved the regular 9 a.m. start of lifeguard-supervised swimming after a drone survey of the water off Jones Beach showed "no issues." 

Schools of fish that may have attracted at least one shark Tuesday morning, causing officials to prohibit swimming, swam out to sea shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday, and swimming was permitted until 7 p.m. 

Also Wednesday, New York City Parks Department officials reopened Rockaway Beach to swimming, two days after a shark attack that sent a 65-year-old woman to the hospital in critical condition. "Drone and harbor unit surveillance this morning did not observe any shark sightings," parks officials said in a tweet. "NYC Parks, NYPD, and FDNY will continue land, drone, and boat surveillance on Rockaway Beach throughout the day and into the evening."

On Tuesday, Gorman said a lifeguard at Jones Beach spotted a possible shark in the water off the beach at the Central Mall at about 9:20 a.m., causing officials to immediately prohibit swimming. Swimming also was halted at the adjacent beaches, the East and West Bathhouse areas.

He said subsequent to that possible sighting, officials monitoring the shoreline spotted "a large school of bait and bunker fish" directly in front of the Central Mall.

"We're concerned that sharks might feed off the smaller baitfish," he said.

Gorman said as a result of the baitfish activity, officials added Field 6 to the areas where swimming was prohibited Tuesday.

He said attendance at the beach was low throughout Tuesday since the weather wasn't ideal.

The possible shark sighting at Jones Beach followed the attack in Rockaway Beach Monday near Beach 59th Street. The New York City Parks Department said the woman was bitten on her left leg by a shark around 5:50 p.m., prompting lifeguards to clear all beachgoers from the water. The NYPD surveyed the water via helicopter, but did not observe any sharks.

Shark sightings and encounters have become more common at Long Island beaches in recent years. New York’s waters went from one shark encounter in 2012 to a record eight shark bites last year off Long Island and six reported bites so far this year, according to officials.

With Joe Werkmeister and John Valenti