A pack of sharks was spotted 15 feet of the shoreline of West Hampton Dunes, N.Y. on May 31, 2011. (Photo: CBS 2)
WESTHAMPTON DUNES, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — The coast is clear.
That’s the word from officials on Long Island after a handful of sharks were seen in the waters near Cupsogue Beach County Park in Westhampton earlier this week.
Deputy Suffolk County Parks Commissioner Tracey Bellone said the county park will be open to swimmers this weekend.
“It took me about three years to go swimming after seeing ‘Jaws.’ This could be another 30 years before I go back in,” beachgoer Steve Schachner said Wednesday.
However, marine biologists said the fish were likely plankton-eating basking sharks that were feeding in the area. Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the ocean next to the Whale shark and can grow to be up to 40-feet long.
Cupsogue Beach is on the western end of Dune Road, next to the village of Westhampton Dunes.
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