I have lived at the NJ shore for most of my life. My first guess was it was a Bull. This is the first in my lifetime that I have heard of a Great White attack at the NJ shore. Unusual for them to be so close to shore. Expect a "debunking" soon...
Do you know how far south Surf City on Long Beach is from from LI?
It's always blame whitey! I don't think this was a white shark either - never heard of one near NJ
I grew up just a few miles from Surf City, on the mainland, in the town of Manahawkin. I read awhile back that the book/movie "Jaws" was based on shark attacks that started off of Long Beach Island, in Beach Haven - just a few miles south of Surf City.
That shark gradually moved north, to the Raritan area, if I remember correctly. It moved upstream and took out a couple of people before heading back out to sea.
A short while later, some fishermen caught a large shark - I'm not sure what species - and the attacks stopped.
http://www.weirdnj.com/_animals/matawanmaneater.html
http://www.hometowntales.com/shark.html
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/wharf/4477/jersey.html
http://www.southjerseynews.com/shore/f081101a.htm