Mr Hewitt said bronze whalers were not uncommon to Hawke's Bay, and move into shallow coastal waters near reefs, estuaries, and surf beaches during summer.
They take about 30 years to reach a maximum length of three metres, but most are 1.5 to 2m.
As bronze whalers would eat live or dead fish, Mr Hewitt said spear fishers should remove their catch from the water as soon as possible. "They'll often come in and steal your catch."
Visitors to Waipataki were more likely to spot a bronze whaler because of the water conditions, and food in that area.
Blue sharks were especially common in Hawke's Bay waters, and were one of the four sharks Niwa announced would be most likely spotted around the country this summer. The other three were bronze whalers, school sharks, and spotted dogfish.
Sharks generally hung around an area for a specific reason - thresher sharks often fed around Waimarama, but you would never find a blue shark there.
Niwa said blue sharks were the most abundant of the oceanic sharks. Their streamlined form and sinuous movements rank them among the fastest of sharks.
Rarely growing beyond 3m, a young 2m blue shark will weigh under 40kg. Despite this, females give birth to up to 135 pups.
School sharks were very common in Hawke Bay year round, but come inshore in summer when they feed on small fish and squid.
They can live for up to 50 years but are slow growers and will only reach about 175cm long. They reproduce at around age 15.
In shallow, sheltered waters during summer, sharks 15 years and older will give birth to between five and 40 pups.
If not seen in the ocean, spotted dogfish can be found at most fish and chip shops. The small native shark doesn't have teeth but plates which they use to grind their food, mostly crab.
During summer, they swim through estuaries and coastal waters, but Niwa assured they were of little threat to humans.
