A drone pilot hovering above Montauk’s surf zone captured something almost unimaginable: a shiver of sharks stretching for acres, tightly packed just beyond the breakers. Michael Cuomo, who filmed the event, described it as the wildest scene he had ever witnessed from the air. According to Surfer, the school of spinner sharks appeared endless, twisting through the water in coordinated bursts of movement, all within sight of one of New York’s busiest surf hubs.

A drone pilot filmed thousands of sharks off Montauk.

Why Spinner Sharks Travel in Numbers

Spinner sharks are known for their feeding technique, spinning through schools of baitfish and launching themselves above the surface in spectacular spirals. They often breach high into the air, sometimes as much as 20 feet, as they chase prey. Their range is wide, spanning from the U.S. East Coast to Brazil, across the Mediterranean, and into the waters of Australia and Indonesia, the Florida Museum reports.

Encounters with large groups of sharks near surf spots are not always a threat, but they remain rare enough to stir both awe and unease. Many species patrol shorelines globally, from juvenile white sharks off California to blacktips and bull sharks in Florida. In fact, according to Surfer, the East Coast ranks as the epicenter of global shark encounters, with 335 reported attacks between 2012 and 2021, though most were minor .

Sharks and Surf Zones Worldwide

Montauk’s swarm is unusual but fits into a bigger story: sharks and surfers often cross paths. A Shark Lab study revealed young white sharks frequently glide within 50 yards of surfers, usually unnoticed. In South Carolina and Florida, lemon, spinner, and sandbar sharks share the water with swimmers daily. Even in hotspots like Florida’s New Smyrna Beach—long nicknamed the “shark bite capital of the world”—most incidents are non-fatal.

Elsewhere, shark-human encounters have created entire danger zones. Recife, Brazil, saw attacks spike after coastal development disrupted bull shark habitats. Reunion Island’s waters turned perilous following shifts in food sources and waste management. And California’s “Red Triangle” has been the backdrop for fatal great white incidents, Wavelength reports. These patterns show how sharks often react to environmental pressures rather than an innate drive to attack humans.

Montauk is a popular surf and beach destination.

The Montauk Moment

What makes the Montauk footage remarkable is its scale—thousands of sharks weaving together, so close to surfers that their fins could have been spotted from the lineup. The sight reveals both the resilience of marine life and the complex, shared space between sharks and people in the ocean.