Shark caught near fatal attack
An 18-year-old fisherman has reeled in a great white shark at the Bowentown end of Waih¯ı Beach, not far from where a young woman was killed last month.
Kaelah Marlow, 19, from Hamilton, died after she was attacked by a shark while swimming on January 7.
Te Awamutu’s Tim Fairhurst said he and some friends were on the hunt for bronze whaler sharks in the channel of water between Bowentown Beach and Matakana Island when they snagged something more powerful.
“It came up on the surface and nearly jumped but we still didn’t have a real good look at it.
“It probably took about 400m of line on the first run. It was a pretty good fight for the size of the shark, it’s a pretty amazing animal all right.”
Once the shark had been reeled in to the boat they towed it to the beach at Matakana Island where they took the hook out, captured some photos and sent the shark on its way.
“It’s the most exciting catch I’ve had, I don’t know anyone else who’s caught a great white before.
“We reported the catch to the Department of Conservation and the guy there said within a minimum of an hour they start changing colour depending on what terrain they’re over. If they’re over a reef or deep blue water they’ll be a dark colour but if they’re in sand and shallow they’ll be lighter.
“You get a lot of confusion over the two sharks but that was definitely a great white. It has completely different eyes and the tail and dorsal fin are a lot thicker for the size of the animal.”
There have been several confirmed sightings of great white sharks around Tauranga Harbour this summer.
Last week an Auckland man suffered minor injuries after a shark bit his arm at Papamoa Beach in the Bay of Plenty.
DoC marine technical adviser Clinton Duffy said the public needed to remember they were sharing the coastal waters with a number of different shark species and “at times they may come close to the shore”.
Great white sharks are protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 and is illegal to hunt, kill or otherwise harm them.