By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-08 19:30:53 | Updated at 2026-08-08 20:01:54
39 minutes ago
A real-life “Jaws” nightmare is stalking the Jersey Shore — with fishermen chumming for massive, man-eating sharks near beaches where unsuspecting families and children are swimming.
Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis told The Post that anglers have been using kayaks and drones to drop bloody bait fish to attract sharks into Atlantic. And sometimes the uneaten bait drifts closer to shore.
“It’s ‘Jaws’ all over again,” Curtis fumed. “It’s crazy — a disaster headed straight for us! I’ve personally seen them chumming for sharks, even during the day. God forbid a child gets bitten or killed.”
The warning comes after Jersey Shore surf fishermen legally landed at least four bull sharks and a tiger shark. Both species are cold-blooded killing machines responsible for most of unprovoked attacks on people.
Curtis said the town has little power to stop the practice. The chumming is irresponsible but not illegal.
“My hands are tied. The laws can’t help us. The lifeguards keep watch, and we made a town resolution encouraging anglers to comply with state and federal regulations but that’s all we can do.”
There have been plenty of shark sightings, but no attacks yet this summer, but that could change in the blink of an eye.
“Sharks only have one job and that is to get food,” said Kenny Rosenblatt, owner of shark fishing charter company East Coast Shredderz, who works alongside Jake, Kurtis, and Mac. “Most, like us, catch and release responsibly, but there are fishermen who don’t do things right.”
The controversy comes as sharks are already finding plenty of reasons to cruise close to the Jersey coast — and nearby New York shores too.
Huge schools of squid and sand eels have created an underwater buffet for predators, while warming ocean temperatures are allowing some shark species to arrive earlier and remain longer.
“I’m hearing about bull sharks every week, almost every day,” New Jersey Fish and Wildlife biologist Greg Hinks told the Asbury Park Press. “It’s unprecedented.”
The chilling controversy echoes the darkest summer in Jersey Shore history.
In 1916, a rogue shark terrorized the Garden State for 12 days, attacking five people and killing four of them. The predator — long believed to be a great white, though historians now debate whether it was a bull shark — was finally caught and gutted, with human remains found inside.
The attacks inspired Peter Benchley’s novel “Jaws,” which became Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster.
More than a century later, Jersey Shore officials are hoping history doesn’t repeat itself.
“We can only pray the season ends without anyone getting killed,” added Curtis.
