Great white shark seen leaping out of the water in 'full attack mode'

A teenager had a near miss incident with a great white shark on Matakana Island over the weekend. File Photo / Marc Henauer

A teenage boy is being regarded as lucky after a near miss incident with a great white shark seen leaping out of the water near him on Matakana Island.

Now the local community is being warned to be "extra vigilant" when swimming in the area.

The incident was reported on Sunday morning, when a great white shark measuring more than 3 metres was spotted near the teen.

"A 3m-plus great white leapt out of the water in full attack mode at a teenage boy who was pulling off the end of a wave while surfing [on Sunday]."

Bay Boardriders president James Jacobs told members of the community online yesterday that they wanted to make sure people who entered the water were aware of the incident and were cautious as a result.

"To note, over the past year there have been regular reports of great white encounters along Matakana and Mt Maunganui coastline, as well as in the Tauranga Harbour."

Jacobs said over the last few months, concerns had been raised with shark experts, scientists and the Department of Conservation in an effort to initiate a study to understand the sudden influx of the great white shark population in the area - as well as their movements.

The sighting comes weeks after a great white was captured on film after latching onto underwater camera gear and dragging an Auckland couple's boat up-current for about 15m before letting go.

The incident happened on Kaipara Harbour.