Shark sightings, attacks worry New Jersey beachgoers

Shark sightings off the New Jersey coastline have forced swimmers out of the water more than once already this summer, North Carolina's coast has been plagued by several shark attacks since June, and to top it off, it's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

Put all these together, and it's not hard to believe that beachgoers along the Jersey Shore are changing their everyday routines. New Jersey 101.5 FM took a trip to the beach in Manasquan to speak with bathers.

Even grown men admitted they won't enter the ocean like they had in the past.

"I go in up to my ankles," said Ray Iorio of Brick. "I don't want to be shark food."

His brother, Len, said he sends his wife into the water first, and if sharks are around, she can offer a heads-up.

"They scare the hell out of me," he said.

A group of young ladies visiting from North Jersey said they were more cautious at the beach this week than ever before. Sightings in Avalon and Margate were too close for comfort.

"I definitely look at where I'm standing in the water to see if there's anything around me," said Morristown resident Julia King.

One of her friends stayed out of the water completely.

Statistically, though, a shark attack is not likely. In fact, more deaths are caused each year by vending machines, cows and coconuts. Still, that doesn't offer much comfort.

"I don't really spend a lot of time around cows or coconuts or vending machines," said Caelyn Mastracchio of Morristown. "I'd probably be more likely to get killed by a shark."

New Jersey's waters haven't seen a shark attack since 2006.

UPDATE, 11:15 p.m. Tuesday: NBC10 Philadelphia reports that another shark was spotted Tuesday afternoon, this one coming ashore at the 36th Street Beach in Ocean City.