Beaches Remain Open After Shark is Caught in Amity Waters

After a town hall press conference yesterday afternoon announced a 4th of July closure of Village Beach, an early morning announcement by Police Chief Brody has reversed that decision.
In a press conference this morning Brody said that Amity’s Village Beach will remain open to the public this 4th of July weekend. This decision came after a shark was caught and killed by two fishermen one mile south-southwest of Amity this morning at 1 a.m.
According to Brody, the fishermen caught the shark, identified as a rare and dangerous nurse shark, after trolling the waters with a 25-lb. turkey. Brody also said that the shark has been identified as the one that took the lives of two Amity beach-goers on July 2 and 3.
The first victim, Wendy Watson, 16, was attacked and killed the night of July 2 after entering the water alone. Her body was found washed up on Village Beach yesterday morning. The second victim was 10-year-old Alex Ferguson, who was attacked and killed yesterday afternoon while playing in the water with friends.
Brody said in the press conference that he is sure this shark is the same one that attacked and killed Watson and Ferguson, but said that the shark’s stomach contents were not checked for human remains.
“We didn’t look,” Brody said. “We thought that would be disrespectful to the dead people’s families. We didn’t open the body up- we already know it is the shark.”
Brody said that it was the opinion of shark expert Matt Hooper, a marine biologist from the Woods Hole, MA, Oceanographic Institute, that convinced him the shark caught this morning is the one who killed the two victims.
“I trust Matt’s judgment,” Brody said. “He is known around the world as the foremost shark expert- if he says this is the shark, then this is the shark.”
However, Brody did say that while the shark caught is very rare, there is a possibility another one could be in the waters off Amity Beach.
“We will have shark spotters and law enforcement around, but I doubt that there is another one of these sharks in these waters,” Brody said.
The decision to leave the beaches open for this 4th of July weekend is good news for Amity’s many business owners, who were angered over the decision to close the beach on the biggest weekend for tourism on the island.
The business owners were facing large crowds this morning on the newly-opened beaches, where the presence of law enforcement, shark spotters, and an ocean empty of swimmers were the only signs of the previous days’ shark attacks.
Beach-goers did enter the water eventually, but were soon forced back to the sand when a fin was spotted swimming through the water. After crowds of people ran screaming out of the water, it was discovered that the fin was cardboard- a hoax planned and performed by two young boys.
Despite this scare, Brody said that he hopes citizens of Amity and tourists alike will enjoy the beach this weekend without worries, but said that if anyone does think they have spotted a shark to call 1-800-sharksee.