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U.S. Coast Guard has issued warning for Northeast after great white caught earlier this year

BY JILLIAN RISBERG

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

‘Sharks at New Jersey beaches' rings of a sensational headline meant to scare. Florida, California, Australia maybe, but here... no way, right? Wrong — after sharks were sighted at the Jersey Shore for the third time this week, the public was left baffled.

Those enormous, mystical creatures that roam sleekly through the ocean and breathe through multiple gill slits have been hovering near our coastline likely because of the soaring temperatures and profusion of fish.

This is the first summer in recent history that the U.S. Coast Guard issued a shark warning for the Northeast, after a seven-foot juvenile great white was caught and released off Massachusetts.

"The water has been usually warm for this time of year, which could attract the sharks who usually arrive in September when there's nobody on the beach to see them," George Burgess, a University of Florida ichthyologist and director of the International Shark Attack File told nj.com.

According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Thursday's in-shore water temperatures off the Jersey coast ranged from almost 77 degrees at Sandy Hook to above 80 at Cape May. That is roughly six degrees warmer than average for mid-July.

"Yes, there are really sharks out there," Seaside Park lifeguard C.J. Ratshin, 21, wearily told the one of the "tons of people coming up and asking if the sharks will eat them," reports nj.com.

Authorities did not identify the shark species but said they were a pair of five-footers that swam 50 feet offshore of two small beaches north of Island Beach State Park Thursday morning, prompting beach closings for nearly two hours.

New Jersey's last fatal shark attack was in August 1926 when Charles A. Burke, 18, was overtaken by an unidentified class of shark while swimming in Ocean County.

But breath easy, the chance of this happening is infinitesimal.

Burgess said the good news is that sharks "do not consider people to be particularly good food."

Despite statewide alerts, the daunting creatures seemed to be the furthest thing from anyone's mind on Thursday as the summer heat wave continued to break records.

Becky Zak, 26, of Toms River, told The Star Ledger she had more pressing concerns than the sharks: "It's too hot not to go in the water. It's not gonna scare me until I see a shark swim up to me."

Echoing that sentiment to NBCNewYork was Joanne Soffing, 52, of Brooklyn, even as a reporter told her she was crazy and Soffing responded "Yes."

"I look forward to this all year and a shark is not going to keep me out of the water."