Shark at Northland beach encouraged by beachgoers
Monday, 22 October 2018
A bronze whaler shark was spotted in the shallows of Langs Beach, Northland, on Sunday afternoon.
Michelle Strang caught the shark on film, and said it was clear the shark was after a hapuka head 'that a fisherman had obviously dumped in the water after fishing'.
A member of the public threw the hapuka head to the shark, she said, which it ate and then 'turned back out to sea and swam off'. The shark 'wasn't interested in the humans', Strang said.
An expert said it was 'not really etiquette' to dump dish offal into the sea, especially at popular swimming beaches, as it can attract sharks.
**READ MORE:
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Bronze whaler sharks are one of the most common sharks seen in New Zealand coastal waters, living in shallow coastal waters over summer.
They are not normally aggressive towards humans, but have been known to bite spear fishers.
Department of Conservation shark expert Clinton Duffy had seen Strang's video and said the 'bronzie' – as bronze whalers are known – was likely foraging in the shallows before it noticed the hapuka head.
'It's very very common to see them in water that shallow, chasing stingray and school fish, at this time of year.'
He said dumping fish offal into the sea was 'not really etiquette', especially at popular swimming beaches.
'On this occasion it attracted a bronze whaler but on a different occasion it may have attracted a more dangerous species of shark – certainly sharks will come in to scavenge on offal.
'It's also generally not nice to be swimming fish offal around you.'
Last Friday a Whangarei man was attacked by a great white shark off Baylys Beach, near Dargaville. The shark left several teeth in the surfer's arm and he remained in hospital on Sunday.