“I don’t think you appreciate the gut reaction people have to these things… You yell ‘Barracuda,’ everybody says ‘Huh? What?’ You yell ‘Shark,’ we’ve got a panic on our hands."
Posted on 07/31/2026 6:24:46 AM PDT by DFG
With shark sightings on the rise along much of the Northeast coast this summer, the New York Police Department (NYPD) is using drones to patrol city beaches, giving lifeguards an aerial view to spot sharks before they get too close to swimmers.
The NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) uses drones for a wide range of public safety missions — from rescuing distressed swimmers and assisting search-and-rescue operations to monitoring crowded beaches and tracking sharks offshore.
Working alongside lifeguards, officers in the specialized, high-tech unit patrol the skies above city beaches, providing a precautionary aerial line of defense against the ocean’s most feared predators.
When a shark is spotted — a scenario that has become increasingly common this summer — drone operators immediately alert lifeguards, who clear swimmers from the water out of an abundance of caution.
According to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, 16 sharks were spotted between July 1 and July 5 off Rockaway Beach, with NYPD drones spotting seven of them, ABC 7 reported.
While shark attacks in New York remain rare, NYPD drone patrols provide an added layer of protection by helping lifeguards spot sharks before swimmers come into harm’s way.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, 12 unprovoked shark bites were recorded across more than 150 years prior to 2022, though recent years have seen a temporary spike in non-fatal encounters along Long Island and New York City waters.
With drones serving as an extra set of eyes in the sky, officials continue to work to ensure safety remains the top priority for visitors while allowing sharks to exist in their natural environment.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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“I don’t think you appreciate the gut reaction people have to these things… You yell ‘Barracuda,’ everybody says ‘Huh? What?’ You yell ‘Shark,’ we’ve got a panic on our hands."
Being a Floridian, it’s common knowledge here that anyone who’s spent a fair amount of time in the ocean has been a lot closer to a shark than they ever would have imagined.....and probably more times than they would imagine.
Where I am a large river empties into the ocean which means a fair portion of the river is brackish water......that is where the bull shark species spawns......so here its not just the ocean to be concerned about.
Guess that’s better than having Jets track the Sharks.
Excellent use of police resources. /s
This does not comfort me. If a police department can track sharks what else are they tracking.
three minutes before me.
well done.
“NYPD deploys drones to track sharks after rise in sightings off NYC beaches”. The sharks must be getting hungry for blood if NYPD is after them.
I’m with you on this one.
They’re going to need a bigger drone.
Is it a rise of n sightings or a rise in sharks.
Sharks live in the ocean. Who would have thunk it?
“This does not comfort me. If a police department can track sharks what else are they tracking.”
I was going to post a sarcastic remark but you beat me.
In our little town citizens are in an uproar after learning an elderly man with dementia (driving a car) was tracked and recovered using a test Flock camera - invasion of privacy they said. The city council voted to take the camera down.
Now that the camera is coming down, I may start robbing banks again.
Sharks have extended their hunting grounds to the Northeast coast over the past forty years. By the mid 1970s the baby seal harvest had largely ceased. This resulted in a large increase of the seal population. The sharks were delighted to return to what had been their hunting grounds and eat whatever they find along the way.
When you’re a Shark…
Maybe we should send Mandami an invitation to swim in the ocean off LI’s beautiful shores...
Could you be talking about the St. Lucie River?
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