New sighting of a great white shark

A second sighting of a great white shark has been spotted in Tauranga - this one at Mayor Island and measuring 4m.
The giant predator was seen on November 7, the same day as Tauranga man Alastair Blair filmed what he believed to be a smaller 3m great white in the Tauranga Harbour entrance, just off Matakana Island at 10am. (Read more...)

Fishing guide and owner of Saltflyer, Nikolaj Mathiesen, said he saw a great white, weighing approximately 800kg, eat a large seal at Lassiters Reef just south west of Mayor Island at 9am.
He was out fishing with four clients from Singapore.
"We saw the seal alive in the surface sunbathing, then suddenly the shark came up three metres out of the water and killed it," he said.
"It was just like you see on the Discovery Channel. It was pretty cool."
Mr Mathiesen said he took photos but they only show the shark swimming five metres down.
The last time he encountered a great white was a few years ago when he saw a baby great white shark in the far North.
The sightings have brought back memories from fishermen of Tauranga's famous great white of the 1990s - Brutus.
Mr Blair says he remembers Brutus as a "huge, big breeding female".
He lent his launch to a friend one day and remembers him coming home and saying Brutus had swum under the launch and stolen his snapper.
"Someone put a net out and killed about 8 or 9 seals and after that he wasn't seen again."
The president of the Tauranga Game Fishing Club said Brutus "worked the area" from Plate Island to Schooner Island for a good two to three years.
"It's not just overseas. We do have [great whites] here in New Zealand," Mr Thomas said.
When asked if the November 7 sightings could be Brutus, Mr Thomas said no.
"Hang that would be, holy hell, 15 years ago. It's not unusual for them to be hanging around but it is unusual to see them in that close."
Department of Conservation marine scientist Clinton Duffy said he doubted Tauranga's Brutus was the same Brutus who was famous in the 1970s and 1980s.
"Brutus was a very famous great white in New Zealand but actually female."
Measuring up to 7m long, she spent most of her time at the Three Kings and is now believed to be dead.
Mr Duffy said Tauranga's "Brutus" was likely to have been more than one great white.
When questioned about our latest great white visitors, Mr Duffy said he had verified Mr Blair's photo and believed Mr Mathiesen's claim, saying the Tauranga man was capable of distinguishing shark varieties.
"He has sent photos of great whites to me before at the North Cape."
When asked if Bay swimmers needed to worry, Mr Duffy said they should be "cautious" but there was no guarantee the great whites were hanging around for long periods.
Mr Duffy said they were known to swim 100km in a day.
In June, a tagged great white named Grim, visited the Eastern Bay of Plenty and stayed for just two days before heading to the Ranfurly Banks where he remained for two months.
His last tracking on September 17 showed him at Fiji's Yasawa Islands.
At the Tauranga Game Fishing Club, fishermen are encouraged to tag and release sharks of all species.
At least "six or seven varieties" could be found around Tauranga, club president Ian Thomas said.
"But at 100kg what are you going to do with it other than dig a big hole? We don't encourage it. Smaller ones you can eat; that was your shark and taties from the old days."
Meanwhile, the owner of a sports store who asked not to be named, said rumours were circulating Mr Blair's spotting of the great white in Tauranga Harbour could have been a "hoax".
The man said the water the shark was photographed looks "very clean."
"Round the harbour entrance at the moment it's quite different."
In response to this, Mr Blair said he had video proof which he was happy to share.
Owner of Aquatek Fishing and Diving Charters and Aquatek Environmental Monitoring and Data Collection Tony Wood said he'd hadn't seen the great white but he did see a 1.5m to 2m mako this week.
"He was in our berley and conveniently eating all the barracudas before we got them to the boat. In fact he chopped the tail off three of them."
Shark experts say a "myriad" of species are heading for our beaches and harbours as the weather heats up, including - rig, school, sevengill, thresher and bronze whaler, who will drop their pups. After pupping most sharks disappear out to sea.
GREAT WHITE BITES

Their favourite place to hang out is Stewart Island and Chatham Island. Ranfurly Banks is a popular "stopping off spot" on their migrations from Stewart and Chatham to the tropics.
They can swim 100km a day.
They like to breed in New Zealand.
They like to swim solo as opposed to a posse. DoC says most of their actions together seem to be avoidance or aggression.
Great whites tend to scare other species off.
While great whites are protected they face an ongoing mortality rate thanks to gill nets, bottom longlines and trawls.
Thirty-two great whites have been tagged in New Zealand by the Department of Conservation and Niwa.