By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press
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WANTAGH, N.Y. — Off the coast of Long Island, drones sweep over the ocean, patrolling the water for any danger that might lurk below the surface as beachgoers grow more vigilant because of a recent spate of shark encounters.

Over two days this week, five people reported being bitten by sharks at some of New York’s most popular beaches, leading to heightened surveillance of the area’s waters.

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The sighting of a 10-foot (3-meter) shark on Thursday prompted officials to keep people out of the water at Robert Moses State Park, the same Long Island beach that delayed its opening July 4 after a drone spotted a group of 50 sand sharks off the coast.

“We are now more vigilant than ever,” said George Gorman, the state’s park director in Long Island. “We have drones in the sky that watch over the waters. We have lifeguards on WaveRunners that watch over the waters.”

Just a few years ago, encounters with sharks were rare. But more recently, reports of sharks biting people have increased. Last year, eight people reported being bitten by sharks swimming in the shallows off Long Island’s beaches.

“This year, we’ve already had five bites,” Gorman said, “and the season has kind of just begun.”

Even if the injuries have not been serious, he and others are concerned by the rise in shark sightings and encounters.

Cary Epstein, a lifeguard supervisor who pilots drones at Jones Beach, said the tiny battery-powered aircraft make three sweeps each day: once before opening, then sometime midday and a final round before the end of the day.

“Despite the nervousness over what’s going on right now in New York, people swim in the ocean every day, and they have for centuries,” he said. “But we do have to remember that we are cohabitating, and this is their house.”

Drones provide an additional vantage point unavailable to lifeguards on the beach, Epstein said as he demonstrated how he uses the drones to patrol the waters off Long Island.

As he operated one of the drones from the beach, he stared into a small box equipped with controls and a display screen.