By: Meyer Wolfsheim

Rockaway Beach die-hards are brushing off the latest shark sightings like a summer breeze — even after NYPD drones spotted the predators dangerously close to swimmers multiple times over the holiday weekend, the New York Post reported.

Lifeguards shut the Queens shoreline down twice — on Friday and again Sunday — when drones detected sharks within 100 feet of beachgoers between Beach 113th and Beach 115th. But not everyone was alarmed.

“The lifeguard will come over and yell, ‘Shark, shark!’” longtime surfer Offer Miala told the Post. “Most of the people come out — the inexperienced surfers, the novices. But we stay in. We surf with the sharks.”

Miala, in his 50s, said the warnings are almost a blessing for seasoned surfers: fewer people in the water means more waves for them.

Despite official warnings, scores of swimmers still flocked to the beach Sunday to beat the summer heat. Some shrugged off the alerts, noting that much of the shark-monitoring area is lightly staffed by lifeguards.

“This stretch where they saw the shark yesterday is kind of like a lifeguard desert,” said Connor Bickford, a 41-year-old resident near Beach 113. “There is no lifeguard between 109 and 116. The guys who fly the drones sit on Beach 109, but there’s nobody in that middle stretch.”

Bickford said that NYPD drone warnings don’t seem to deter most swimmers. “They sound funny, like a broken robot. People usually don’t listen.”

Others echoed that sentiment. “I just started chuckling,” said Prospect Park resident MacGregor Rucker, 63. “I thought it was kind of a riot. I was thinking about the 50th anniversary of Jaws… There was no panic, just honest compliance. People got out. But today? I’m going in. It’s too hot. I’ll take my chances with the sharks.”

According to the Post, the drone patrols resumed again on Sunday afternoon after a 2:30 p.m. alert signaled another shark nearby. Despite that, many locals weren’t swayed from dipping back into the Atlantic.

Others see the predator sightings as a sign of a vibrant marine ecosystem. “Last year they counted 266 whales here. It’s amazing,” said Willy Rodriguez, 70, who lives near Beach 113. “I saw a pod of dolphins right here off the jetty this summer. It’s beautiful. We’ve got seals, and that’s why the sharks are here. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The increased presence of whales, dolphins, and seals in the area has drawn more sharks, experts say — especially as water temperatures rise and food sources migrate closer to shore.

Still, the laid-back Rockaway attitude prevails.

As the Post put it, even amid shark alerts, sunburns, and lifeguard megaphones, the waves keep rolling in — and the locals keep riding them.