[Tia Maria]

Eeek it would appear so :eek: :

www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10486873&ref=rss

I thought this wasn't OZ, will someone please tell the sharks!?

Cheers

Tia

[willsken]

Horrible things aren't they. Gives me the creeps!:(

[Kim39]

Am fascinated by them, but that would be a little to close for comfort for me i'm afraid. Still with that said, i would love to swim with them in a controlled and supervised environment.


Kim

[StevieD]

Yup there definitely are!! There was one over at the Mount before Xmas and an attack at Ragland last year, albeit a minor one.

They reckon this time of year that they come in to the warm waters closer to land to have their pups..... I expect it pays to be vigilant but not paranoid about the things.

[jspokes]

Hi all

I feel I can try and offer some balanced advice on this matter as a Master Scuba Diver Trainer with 1,500 dives who used to feed sharks underwater for a living. I've dived with Great Whites, Hammerheads, Bull Sharks, Silvertips and lots more besides and believe I have a good understanding of their behavior and environment. Sharks have lived for around 400 million years and remember it it us in their territory. Of the fatal attacks around the world most can be attributed to only 3 of the 360 different species of shark.

The Mako and Bronze whaler shark also get big enough to potentially worry someone but have only been responsible for a handful of attacks. The Bronze Whaler or narrowtooth shark (been in the news this week) has only been attributed to 15 attacks in the last 150 years worldwide, with no fatal attacks recorded. The Mako sharks figures; 47 attacks worldwide in 150 years, most of which were attacks on boats (I read this as defending their territory) with only 3 fatalities.

The Great White (yes, around NZ), The Tiger Shark (generally too cold in NZ, although the odd one has turned up) and Bull Shark (Again unlikely in NZ, although an angler caught the first one in 2006) are the top 3.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/species2.htm.

The Great White shark has been attributed to 430 attacks worldwide with 63 fatalities in the last 150 years. Most of these are in Oz or California. Most of the NZ shark attacks will have been GW's. In most cases this will be a case of mistaken identity, figuring we're seals.

There is such a thing as the international shark attack file, managed by the university of Florida. The total number of attacks in NZ in the last 154 years is a miserly 46, only 9 of which were fatal. Most of these, if not all will have been Great Whites.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/GAttack/mapZE.htm

Let's put the risk into perspective a little. Sure the idea of being attacked by a shark is somehow prehistorically frightening but the chance of this happening is very small. Yes, you have a higher chance of being attacked in NZ than you would in Europe, but that's because you've chosen to come to live in an area where the more dangerous sharks live (great white particularly)

Lies, damn lies and statistics eh..here we go: Taken from http://legalminds.lp.findlaw.com/list/food-law/pdf00002.pdf

Your'e massively more likely to be killed driving to work, crossing the street or even eating your lunch. So maybe the media headlines should read:

"Attack by killer sandwich!"

In contrast it is estimated that humans kill around 38 MILLION sharks a year, mainly for soup. http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1003-sharks.html

The Great White Shark in April 2007 became a protected species in NZ waters. They are now an endangered species and have been added to the C.I.T.E.S list.

Why not enjoy these sharks in their natural environment in NZ. Learn how to dive and visit the Chatham Islands where you can view these amazing creatures.

Then maybe when the media blows up again at sharks being seen off the NZ coast you can educate people on what the real risks are and just like the rest of NZ's wonders we can appreciate their natural beauty before they're wiped off the earth forever.

Jon

[migratory birds]

Thanks, Jon, for the excellent/highly informative post that will hopefully calm the panic and dispel the myths held about sharks. Sharks (and wolves!) have come out the worse for widespread misinformation in the last century or two.

The risks of driving on NZ roads are far greater (esp when driving on the outside curve of those steep mountain passes without guard rails).

[NoelMC]

You are more likely to be killed by your toaster than a shark. (only when its plugged in I presume)

Don't you just love statistics

[dilanium]

:laugh I can just see toasters running around trying to kill people with their cords. :laugh

[tomo1340]

I love sharks, fantastic creatures. Related to Stingrays in some way I believe. No doubt Jon can shed more light on that. I wanted to dive with the sharks at the blue planet aquarium in Cheshire when we went but you had to book ahead. Like it's been said, we can appear seal-like in the water and who could blame a shark for having a crack at a lovely seal having a swim it's only natural. I have also been told that sharks bite to understand things. So if they don't know what they are they might take a nibble to gain a better understanding. This is not that different from my freshwater tropical fish who like to nibble my fingers if they can get away with it. As much as I love the sight of whales and dolphins, the majestic shark is a sight I would love to see up close in its natural environment. Unfortunately its the JAWS culture we are gripped with these days, they reckoned there was a GW off the coast of England last year, highly unlikely but possible, not a big deal on the safety front but the papers were screaming JAWS. Anyway, as Billy Connolly once said, you never hear of a shark attack in Woolworths, so if you do go into the sea, then you can't complain if you feel a bite on the bum. :D

[andrewandjane]

apparently it was a tiger shark that nibbled the lifeguard boat yesterday,

[BkyMonster]

Sharks coming in to get at the crab pots?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10487090

Lovely informative post Jon.

[jspokes]

Oh, here we go again. So I thought, more media sensationalism.

OK, so TV3 says it COULD! have been a tiger shark. Note nobody quotes a source in the article, cites any particular "expert" or gives any evidence that it COULD have been a Tiger shark. I doubt it, I really do. It could have been a Panda! Listen to the news article and it says: "It is thought that it could have been a tiger shark". By who?! By the tv3 reporter who wants to make a more sensationalist news piece?!

The Tiger Shark is a predominantly tropical animal and the 18C water temp around the north island is nothing like the 25-28 degrees your likely to find around Oz's coast right now, where they're more common. Also Tigers are in general very, very shy creatures. Ask any long term diver and the Tiger Shark is one of the least seen species. They disappear at the sound of noise generally and are predominantly nocturnal. Of course anything is possible.

I'll keep my views open, until proved otherwise, but in reality the chances of this being true are pretty small.

http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/Expertssaysharknumberstypicalforsummer/tabid/209/articleID/43534/cat/41/Default.aspx

With regards to the crab pots..interesting. Of course if you put bait into the water then the sharks extremely sensitive sense of smell is gonna pick that up, so maybe there's a point there. But what sharks is it attracting? The Bronze Whalers mainly which have never been much of a threat to humans. The proof is exactly what IS going on right now. Sharks off the coast within close proximity to bathers and NO human attacks!

Next we'll hear the calls to install shark nets. This barbaric practice of setting nets used extensively in Oz and has never been shown to be effective. All it's designed to do is KILL sharks, Like the protected Great White. Surely that should be illegal now, since they've become protected!!! These gill nets dont come up to the surface and are open ended, so sharks can swim over or around them. In fact around 40% of sharks caught in nets are found on the inside. But apparently the legislation allows for their continued use.

From 1969, nets were also laid at local Dunedin beaches; the programme was still in effect in 2004 at St Clair, St Kilda and Brighton beaches. (Is it still going on?) In the early to mid-1970s, about six great whites were netted each year. Since then most of the sharks caught have been harmless. In addition other marine life like dolphins and whales get caught and drown in the nets.

If I was over in NZ right now I'd be in my dive gear, camera in hand to go witness these amazing creatures.

[PeteS]

If I was over in NZ right now I'd be in my dive gear, camera in hand to go witness these amazing creatures.


Well said, when diving we think ourselves LUCKY if we see sharks. Man has killed so many of them it is getting rarer and rarer to see them.

Lets hope the Aussie paranoia about sharks doesn't come to NZ. Here they just tell you if you don't want to swim with sharks then get out the water. It is the sharks home after all.

[Caroline and Dave]

If you want to see sharks just go into an estate agents:D

[SarahEDH]

If you want to see sharks just go into an estate agents:D

Right on, couldn't agree more :laugh :laugh

[veronica]

Damn. that was going to be my comment too, more worry about sharks in the business world than the ones in the water.

[PeteS]

When we go diving the only sharks we normally see are located just behind the cash register in the dive shop....