KEY POINTS:
It's not just people flocking to the beach on long, hot days.
Department of Conservation expert Clinton Duffy said shark sightings are increasingly common as summer gets underway.
No part of the country is immune to visits from the maritime predators, but they're particularly fond of sandy beaches
and the entrances to estuaries.
"They're commonly seen cruising along open, sandy beaches chasing mullet and kahawai."
The fish attract sharks looking for food and they attract bigger sharks after a more substantial meal.
The most common species seen at New Zealand beaches are school and rig
sharks, "your standard fish and chip sharks", said Duffy.
Others to make regular appearances are sevengills, bronze whalers and
hammerheads, plus "the occasional great white thrown in for good
measure".
The first shark scare of the summer came at Papamoa Beach in the Bay
of Plenty in the final days of November when a 2.4m thresher had bathers fleeing for the shore on several occasions.
And for good reason - although attacks are rare in New Zealand, any shark 1.8m or longer can inflict a fatal bite.
"Sharks are usually more scared of people than we are of them. But unless you know what you're doing, it's a good idea to get out of the water," said Duffy.
"And if you have wounds or cuts that may still be bleeding, don't swim at all."
If you have the bad luck to be attacked, fight as vigorously as you can with a punch to the snout or gouge to the eyes your best bet of survival.
Kelly Tarlton's curator Andrew Christie said while the chances of a shark attack are "absolutely minimal" swimmers should get out of the water as calmly as possible if they see one.
According to the Kelly Tarlton's website, being attacked by a shark is much less likely than being killed while driving to the beach or drowning in the surf.
A shark attack is less likely than the chance of being killed by bees,
lightning, crocodiles or elephants.
Over the past 150 years there has been an average of 2.6 shark attacks per decade in New Zealand and a fatal attack only every 13 years.
Even in shark-infested waters overseas, less than 30 attacks have been
recorded annually in the past 50 years, with only seven fatal.
In 2004 seven dolphins surrounded a group of lifeguards and slapped the
water with their tails to frighten off a circling great white shark.
Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving members Rob Howes and three teenagers -
his daughter Nicky Howes, Karina Cooper and Helen Slade - were 100m out to sea on a training swim when seven dolphins herded them together, apparently protecting them from a 3m great white shark which swam past them.