The shark, estimated to be roughly 8-feet long, was spotted ashore on the Ocean Beaches along Dune Road in the Village of Quogue at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said in a press release.
A resident was able to capture photographs of the shark and report the sighting to police before the waves swept the giant fish back into the ocean.
In an eerie photo shared by police, the shark is seen motionless in the sand, with its sharp teeth exposed and what appears to be blood surrounding its mouth.
An 8-foot great white shark washed up on a Long Island beach.Quogue Village Police
The shark is only half the length of a full-grown great white, and is likely to be anywhere from 6- to 10-years-old, Frank Quevedo, executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum Shark Research and Education Program told the Post.
The museum is working with police to try to locate the carcass and perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death, which at this time cannot be speculated.
“Different species wash up on the beach quite often, but when it’s a vulnerable species like a great white we would perform a necropsy,” said Quevedo.
This comes amid an increase in shark sightings on Long Island.
“A dead shark can provide more valuable data than a live shark,” Quevedo said, adding that the corpse of the juvenile shark, if obtained, would provide “critical data points” in the museum’s mission of shark conservation.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is also working on the case.
“At this time we are cautioning swimmers and boaters in the area to be aware of this ongoing situation, and to keep distance to allow the Law Enforcement to monitor this event,” Quogue Village Police said in a release.
The Quogue shark appeared the day after New York City shut down Rockaway beaches over two shark sightings.
Further west on Long Island, there have been at least five shark attacks since June 30, along with multiple sightings.
On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered state agencies to deploy more patrol boats, drones and helicopters on the South Shore.
