The wayward shark that beached itself in the Rockaways - causing a stretch of the Queens shoreline to be closed to swimmers Saturday - died yesterday, city park officials said.
"It is now safe to go back into the water and we invite beachgoers to enjoy a picture-perfect Labor Day weekend at the Rockaway Beach," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said after the shark washed ashore at 6 a.m.
A group of sunbathers first spotted the shark Saturday morning when it splashed out of the surf near Beach 113th St.
Rather than flee, the beachgoers pushed the shark back into the ocean. For several hours, the 5-foot thresher shark could be seen swimming just off shore.
The sightings led park officials and lifeguards to close more than 10 busy blocks of beach - from 107th to 121st - at the start of the long, Labor Day weekend.
Benepe said city lifeguards acted "appropriately" Saturday when they closed the beach to swimmers. The parks commissioner referred to the shark as "one of the most respected creatures of the deep" yesterday before announcing all the city’s beaches were open for the holiday weekend.
Hans Walters, a shark researcher and supervisor at the New York Aquarium, said he was impressed by the way New Yorkers responded to the shark sighting.
"Sharks get a lot of bad press," he said. "But the public that was at the beach said, 'Hey, we gotta help this animal,' rather than, 'Hey, it's a shark. Let's kill it.'
"It's just sad the shark didn't live."
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