Experts offer water safety tips following shark attack and sighting in Northland

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

Great white sharks regularly move along the coastline between Kaipara and Manukau and Cape Reinga including 90 Mile Beach.

Shark attacks may be rare in Northland - but with spring and warmer waters comes a shark boom as they move inshore to pup.

Whangarei surfer Andrew 'Nugget' Brough survived a great white shark bite on Friday while surfing at Baylys Beach near Dargaville, and on Sunday a bronze whaler shark was spotted in the shallows of Langs Beach.

Department of Conservation shark expert Clinton Duffy said there would be a 'seasonal increase' in shark numbers right now, because it's coming into summer.

'Certainly in terms of the great white.

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'It's spring time so you have a number of shark species moving inshore to pup, then the adults will hang around in the coastal zone for most of the summer and feed.

Andrew Brough checks out the bite marks on his board.

'Then you've got larger species like great whites come in and are feeding on those sharks, along with rays and snapper.

'There's a lot happening, there's a lot of food being produced over summer.'

Brough, 25, said he felt 'so lucky' to have survived the attack, which left him with puncture wounds to his arm requiring 63 stitches.

He would also have to undergo rehabilitation on his bitten hand because, even though there was no nerve or tendon damage, 'they [doctors] don't know how the movement of separate fingers will be'.

But it could have been worse, he said.

The great white shark that attacked Andrew 'Nugget' Brough left some teeth in his surfboard and his arm.

'If it was any lower it would have pierced my stomach - that could have been a whole different story.'

Duffy said great whites regularly move along the coastline between Kaipara and Manukau harbours and further north to Cape Reinga including 90 Mile Beach.

'That appears to be a particularly favoured feeding area for great whites,' he said.

'When moving along the coast they move fairly directly, but they do make occasional excursions inshore.'

But shark attacks are 'very rare' in New Zealand, Duffy said, with the long term average being one every two years.

Great white shark population estimates published by DOC earlier this year suggest the population is stable or in slight decline, he said.

There might be 'a few more bronze whalers around these days', due to a decline in gillnetting, but 'we don't have a good estimate on their abundance'.

Duffy said the last attack he is aware of was a free diver who was bitten through the knee on the Karikari Peninsula in Northland in 2016.

The attack wasn't reported in the media, he said.

The last fatal attack was in 2013, when Auckland film-maker Adam Strange died after being attacked by a number of sharks while training for a race at Muriwai Beach.

And in 2009 a capsized kayaker was killed after being bitten by what was thought to be a great white at Whangamata.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region chief executive Matt Williams said while sharks are an area of frequent attention, the incidence of harm in NZ is low compared to other risks the public face.

His advice to swimmers is to take note of any recent shark sightings or incidents and be aware of them, but not to let this take precedence over accounting for the far more present risk of drowning and injury at beaches, he said.

'If the public showed the same level of risk awareness to the far more probable risks causing drowning and injury at coastal locations – we would have a far lower drowning and injury toll.'

Duffy said people should avoid swimming in areas you can see schools of fish, seabirds or dolphins actively feeding.

Areas with high concentrations of fur seals should also be avoided, as sharks would likely be hunting there, he said.

If you come face to face with a shark, Duffy's advice is 'don't panic'.

'Struggling and thrashing about make you look vulnerable and injured and that could encourage the shark to attack.

'You should treat any shark over 1.8m as potentially dangerous. And treat any shark with respect regardless of size. Even if they can't kill you they could give you a nasty bite.'

Brough said there was no way the traumatic event would keep him out of the water.

He would be back at the beach after the removal of his full arm cast in six to eight weeks, he said.

'I'm going to get back out there as soon as I can.

'It was a freak accident; it was very rare.'