A recent rash of shark sightings in Northland is no reason to stay out of the water, says Tutakaka marine conservation expert Wade Doak.
"Sharks share the sea with us and most of the time they avoid us, we're not on the menu," he says.
In the past week two sharks,each more than 2m long, have been killed off Northland's coast.
But Mr Doak said attack statistics showed sharks did not deserve their man-eating reputation.
Four shark sightings have been reported in the Rodney area and the Department of Conservation put up a warning after a 5m shark was seen feeding in the Goat Island marine reserve.
