Great white shark hooked in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Boaties and holiday-makers are being urged to take care after a 4.5-metre great white shark was hooked by a group out fishing in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour.

Department of Conservation (DoC) shark expert Clinton Duffy said a family were fishing for snapper in a six-metre boat when they hooked the shark near Te Atatu.

The large shark jumped out of the water twice before breaking free from the fishing line and disappearing, he said.

Duffy said DoC was urging people to take care in the water in the area as the shark could still be patrolling and could be dangerous.

'A bite from any sort of shark over 1.8m long can be pretty serious.'

The great white was likely to weigh close to a tonne and could do significant damage if it bit someone, he added.

While it was not uncommon for sharks to be in the harbour, the sighting of a great white of this size was rare, he said.

It was likely that the shark was attracted into the harbour by the large amounts of snapper in the area at the moment, Duffy said, adding that the struggling fish being caught by the group on Monday would have drawn the shark to the boat.

The shark might have moved on since the encounter earlier this week but it could still be in the area.

Great white sharks could reach speeds of at least 45 kilometres an hour so it could be long gone.

However, they had been known to stay in the Kaipara Harbour for weeks, Duffy said.

The great white would likely stay around as long as there was food in the area, he said.

The shark had not been sighted since Monday, when it was patrolling in the 2.5m-deep water.

However, the water was murky at the moment and visibility was poor.

If the shark was still around it would be patrolling the main channels and sticking to the deeper waters but it would come into shallow water near the shore if it thought there was something to eat, he said.

Large great white sharks were usually solitary.

DoC advised people not to swim in the area and those who were fishing, kayaking, or kite surfing in that area of the Waitemata should keep an eye out for the great white and keep themselves safe.

People should avoid doing things to attract the shark like dumping dead fish and old bait in the water.

Anyone fishing from a boat in the area should not attach a burley bag to their anchor chain.

Despite DoC's cautions, the Coastguard had not issued an official warning.

Coastguard said it had heard the fish tale but were more amused than concerned.

'How did they know it was a great white?' a spokeswoman said.

As to whether boaties were concerned, she said no.

'The harbour is full of sharks.'

Robertson was not the only Kiwi to encounter a shark on Monday.

A New Zealand surfer had a close encounter with a shark, as a friend was attacked just metres away at a California beach.

Aucklander Andrew Walsh was surfing at Montana de Oro beach in San Luis Obispo County on Monday when his friend Kevin Swanson, 50, was attacked by what was believed to be a great white shark.

Swanson was taken under the water by the 'juvenile' shark judged to be about 3-metres, but was released with a severe wound to a hip.

Swanson was able to paddle back to shore where he made a tourniquet with his surf leash. Walsh helped him to the beach where two doctors were walking by, and emergency services were alerted.

Great white sharks are listed as a threatened species worldwide. They are fully protected in New Zealand waters under the Fisheries Act 1996 and the Wildlife Act 1953.

It is illegal to deliberately catch, or harm a great white in anyway, in New Zealand waters.

Anyone attempting to catch, or harm a great white in New Zealand waters, faces a fine of up to $250,000 and up to six months in prison

It is not illegal to accidentally catch a great white shark but it must be released alive and unharmed, and reported to DoC or the Ministry of Fisheries as soon as possible.

NEW ZEALAND SHARK ATTACKS:

On average, there are two shark attacks every year in New Zealand. Since 1837, there have been 15 fatal attacks.

2013: Last year filmmaker Adam Strange was killed in a shark attack of an Auckland beach.

The 4-metre shark, believed to be a great white, attacked Strange off Muriwai Beach in February.

2006: A kayaker was mauled by a great white in the Coromandel - whether he drowned before the shark found him is still disputed. The last death before that was 1976.

1992: Mike Fraser was attacked by a shark while snorkelling off Campbell Island, 600 kilometres south of Invercargill.

Fraser was surveying the area for photographing and filming southern right whales.

The great White released the 53-year-old only after it had ripped off his arm.

Greenpeace estimates that 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year.