A New Jersey mayor is warning residents about the dangers caused by fishermen chumming the waters off the Jersey Shore, luring sharks close to areas frequented by swimmers and beachgoers.
Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis told ABC News that some fishermen have used drones to drop bait in the water, and that bait could theoretically float closer to shore in swimming areas, luring in sharks and putting recreational swimmers at risk.
In order to get his point across, Curtis likened the potential danger to the classic Steven Spielberg film Jaws, which famously tells the story of a fictional East Coast beach community plagued by shark attacks and the fishermen who try to find the culprit.
“The only thing that’s missing is the music,” Curtis said. “It had sharks coming in close to shore, mistaking people for food.”
Fishermen are permitted to fish off the beach in the early morning and evenings, and chumming is not illegal, according to Curtis.
“Once the bathing beach opens to the public, they aren’t supposed to be there,” he explained. “But the sharks don’t know that. They’ll be there because they’re looking for food. And yeah, I guess I am frantic. I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”
Several shark sightings have been reported up and down the East Coast this summer, including a Great White shark that was spotted off the coast of Maine and a tiger shark spotted near Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Experts say some species have been drawn to warmer waters farther north as a result of rising ocean temperatures.
Shark-human interactions are rare and the number of documented unprovoked shark bites on humans each year remains extremely low, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.
According to the International Shark Attack File, there were 105 shark-human interactions and just 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025.