First Great White Shark of season spotted gliding through clear Montauk waters: video
Here's quite a fish tale.
A majestic Great White Shark was seen swimming along the shores of Montauk this week — a sighting that marks the beginning of the summer season.
The viral drone footage showed the massive beast gliding close to the shores of Long Island's most eastern point around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, with nothing but clear green water surrounding it.
The shark was seen swimming a few hundred feet off the coast of Montauk.
Joanna L Steidle via Storyful
The 'beauty' was seen just a few hundred feet from the coast and was moving at a leisurely 3.5 mph — just a fraction of its 35 mph capacity, according to the videographer.
'For me this was super exciting, as I have been flying these waters for 8 years and this is the earliest shark spotting I have had in a season and it is also the closest to shore I have spotted a great white,' Joanna L. Steidle wrote on X.
The video quickly caught the attention of thousands — who were amazed at the incredible footage, and some who were concerned that the shark might have been swimming in popular wading waters earlier in the spring season than typical.
But according to experts, the sighting is nothing short of 'absolutely normal.'
The shark is likely an 8-foot-long juvenile.
Joanna L Steidle via Storyful
'It is very, very expected this time of the year that the white sharks are moving through the Long Island waters,' Greg Metzger, the chief field coordinator of the South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center's Shark research program, told The Post.
'Nothing unusual, nothing strange. All just part of what they do every year for as long as we know they've been here.'
The shark didn't appear to be hunting in the video, but the Montauk coast is a popular feeding ground for Great White Sharks, he explained.
It's tough to tell from the short clip, but Metzger estimated that the shark was a juvenile and 8 feet in length.
There are sharks in Long Island waters year-round, but spring is typically when marine life, including Great White populations, sees a boom.
There has been an increase in sightings in recent years for a number of reasons, according to Metzger — one of which is the drone Steidle used to capture the incredible footage.
'That shark might've been swimming through Long Island waters for the last 15 years, but it just wasn't seen by a drone. We have more and more drone pilots out there, there's more people with cell phones. As soon as those pictures are taken, they're put on the internet and so there's a kind of a sense that there's a lot more sharks, but I think it's just because we have technology now that makes seeing and accessing sightings more,' explained Metzger.
There has also been a surge in shark food populations, particularly the Atlantic menhaden, thanks to conservation efforts made in the last decade. Those fish tend to swim closer to shore, meaning more sharks are moving in for their meals.
Plus, global warming has kicked Long Island summers off sooner and lasts longer, which has resulted in sharks spending more time in New York waters.
Despite the increase, the risk of a shark encounter remains low
'This is very common. There's not anything to be alarmed of or about. It's just this time of the year,' he said.
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