In a controversial shift sure to make waves across Tampa Bay, St. Pete lifeguards announced Monday they are abandoning the gentle “stingray shuffle” in favor of a far more aggressive defensive maneuver: the “stingray stomp.”

For decades, locals have been advised to slide their feet cautiously through the shallows, nudging stingrays aside without incident. But according to city lifeguards, that era of restraint is officially over.

The announcement follows the debut of the string ray stomp from anonymous beachgoer whose stomping inspired the policy.

“We’ve been tiptoeing around stingrays for too long,” said senior lifeguard Brandon “Tank” Miller, demonstrating a double-heel smash on the shoreline near Pass-a-Grille. “From now on, it’s stomp first, ask questions never.”

Officials justified the new policy by citing the 2006 death of wildlife legend Steve Irwin, insisting his tragic encounter with a stingray proves the animals can never be trusted. “If the Crocodile Hunter wasn’t safe, none of us are,” Miller added.

Beachgoers can now expect to see lifeguards leading synchronized stomp routines, described by one witness as “Riverdance meets pest control.” Children’s summer camps along the Gulf Coast have even adopted a new rhyme: “Stomp the ray, live another day!”

Marine biologists have condemned the move as “wildly unnecessary,” pointing out that stingrays are docile bottom-feeders who almost never attack unless provoked. But lifeguards counter that science has been “soft on stingrays since the beginning.”

“Look, these aren’t innocent sea pancakes,” said lifeguard supervisor Kelly Jo Ramirez, her whistle jangling in the humid breeze. “They’re flat little assassins with switchblades for tails. Steve Irwin deserved better — and St. Pete is making sure it never happens again.”

Critics worry the stomp could lead to lawsuits, ecological damage, and tourists developing shin splints. Still, the city remains defiant.

“St. Pete has always been on the frontlines of weird beach policies,” Ramirez declared. “This is Florida. We fight gators in our backyards and hurricanes in our front yards. Stingrays? They’re next.”

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