Exclusive | Are NYC swimmers facing more shark attacks than normal this summer? Experts reveal whats going on

Is it a sign of the a-jaw-calypse?Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the New York area has seemingly been under siege from a veritable sharknado in 2026 — with a spike in sightings and close encounters of the big fish kind.This month alone, authorities have temporarily red-flagged or shuttered beaches from Long Island to The Rockaways, where an alleged “swarm” of suspected bull sharks, typically found in warmer climes than ours, was spotted offshore.Meanwhile, just a couple of weekends ago, a swimmer was savaged off Jones Beach by a suspected shark — which decided to snack on the poor funseeker’s foot, chomping it straight to the bone.“The man who got bit said that it felt like a jaw-biting motion and that it went clean through,” recalled lifeguard Kate Maio, who tended to the victim’s wounds.

But is swimming at New York beaches like, in the words of Chief Brody from “Jaws,” “ringing the dinner bell?” Or could the hysteria be just a bit overblown?Officials claim The Rockaways have experienced record sharktivity — with 23 shark sightings since May 23, most of them between July 1 and July 5, NBC 4 reported.However, bona fide bites have plunged since the bloodbaths of 2022 and 2023 — when there were 13 reported fin-counters on Big Apple-adjacent shores, including five in a particularly gory three-week stretch.Hans Walters, the Curator for the Animal Department at the New York Aquarium, believes there’s roughly the same number of sharks that have always been — we’re just noticing them more.“Sightings probably are [increasing],” the fish expert, who’s been studying the fearsome beasts for three decades and counting, told The Post.“If you look for something, as long as it exists, you’re going to find it.

We are looking for sharks.We’re looking for them because they either terrify us or they fascinate us.”He also noted that improved technology, from Go-Pros to drones, makes the predators easier t...