It is vital swimmers follow Department of Conservation warnings to take care when swimming off the coast of Tauranga due to an increase in shark sightings, a district leader says.
Yesterday the Department of Conservation revealed at least six great white sharks had been spotted off the coast of Tauranga.
It said reports of great whites had increased since May last year and although an estimate of the number of sharks in the area could not be confirmed, at least six individual great whites had been identified.
"If you are visiting the ocean you need to be a little bit vigilant and aware of what's happening around you and swim where there are surf lifesaving patrols, and don't swim or dive alone," DoC warned.
"If you are heading out on the water exercise caution and avoid swimming in the main channels where there are a lot of birds diving, or berleying from kayaks and jet skis when fishing."
Photos and video footage would continue to be monitored to determine if sightings were of the six identified, or if the area is seeing a steady increase in new marine visitors.
In January, Hamilton woman Kaelah Marlow, 19, died after a shark attack off the beach at Bowentown.
Iwi from Otawhiwhi Marae blessed the area with a karakia and placed a week-long rāhui on the collection of shellfish, all fishing, and swimming at the beach.
Before Marlow's death, the previous fatal shark attack in the Bay of Plenty was at Te Kaha in 1976. John Leith, 27, died after he was attacked while spearfishing from a dinghy.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council mayor Garry Webber said it was vital people heeded safety warnings and remained vigilant whenever they went into the water.
"People needed to take personal responsibility when they go into someone else's environment to take all the precautions they can to protect themselves from harm.
"This is a marine environment after all and sharks are just doing what sharks do. People need to follow the advice and warnings from DoC and other shark experts."
Shelley Jones, owner of Switch Stance Surf & Skate in Pāpāmoa, said shark sightings hadn't affected her surfboard sales.
However, she had seen an increase in sales of shark bands - magnetic bands which go around a surfer's wrists or ankles and interfere with the sensors on a shark's nose.
Jones herself has been surfing for 30 years, and said sharks had never lessened her desire to be in the water.
She said she was chased out of the water by a juvenile shark in Papamoa last year.
"I think it got as much of a fright as I did," she said.
"It's part of the sport, and it's part of the risk you take. The sharks live in the ocean - there's nothing you can do about it.
"Where do you want them to be?" she laughed.
"If you saw one in a tree, then we might have to have a conversation."
She advised people to avoid surfing at morning and dusk, and to surf in groups.
She had no plans to stop surfing with the recent sightings.
"It is the risk you do take. You do feel more comfortable surfing in numbers.
"The thought's always in the back of your head - you just have to stay a little bit more vigilant."
Well-known Shark researcher Dr Riley Elliott identified the species responsible for Marlow's death as a suspected juvenile great white between 2.5m and 3m long.
He has also identified 15 individual great whites largely in the Bowentown end of Tauranga Harbour.
Elliott said there were unprecedented numbers of great white sightings and encounters last summer and this summer was likely to be no different.
Two weekends ago, he spoke to about 200 people in Bowentown who were keen to know more about the species and they also shared insights into their own great white encounters, he said.
"People really want a greater understanding of these marine animals and their habits and they also want to know how they can co-exist with them and still have an enjoyable summer."
Elliott said because many recreational fishermen used berley to attract fish most of their encounters with great whites were from the back of a boat while a shark was looking to take their catch.
Over the summer there was the potential for those encounters to increase, particularly just offshore from Anzac Bay and in the waterskiing lane off Matakana Island, he said.
"If people understand that they can make a decision on what not to do to create a situation where they put themselves at risk."
Elliott said he was still waiting for a permit from DoC to be able to tag and track the great white species to gain a better understanding of their numbers, habits and movements along the Tauranga coastline.
He said ongoing research was crucial to inform people where the sharks were and to enable both people and sharks to better co-exist and ensure the conservation of the species.
Elliott said sharks were predatory animals but most encounters did not result in bites or injury and death.
Last month, Bowentown Harbour users called on the authorities to act after a rise in great white shark encounters.
Fishermen, paddle boarders and kayakers in Waihi Beach, Bowentown and Kauri Pt say great white sharks have been active in the past month, with at least eight witnessed breaches and close-up encounters with the endangered predators.
Great whites are protected under the Wildlife Act 1953, meaning it is illegal to hunt, kill or otherwise harm them.
It's not illegal to accidentally catch a great white shark but it must be released without causing it further harm, and it is a legal requirement to report the capture.
People have been asked to please report details of sightings, captures or strandings to DoC sharks@doc.govt.nz or to 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
Elisabeth Nicholls vanished from a retirement village in Riccarton two weeks ago.