“We see them all the time, it’s standard,” Surf Lifesaving eastern manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell said last week.
In two weeks covering the holiday season, Gibbons-Campbell said lifeguards had seen 42 bronze whalers across Coromandel and Bay of Plenty, and the sharks had posed “no risk to swimmers”.
“Because they’re in pup season, they come into shore to get some of the oxygenated water with all the swell and that’s why you see them sitting in shallows – they’re actually just resting. They’re not actually interested in us at all.
“The best thing is just to give them a bit of space – respect their presence and hop out of the water for a little bit and most of the time you’re good to go back in.”
Most frequent ocean-goers I’ve spoken to would agree with that sentiment. The sea is not our natural habitat and it can be dangerous. But respect the water, be sensible, and take precautions, and you’ll likely be fine.
As someone who spent their childhood living a stone’s throw from the beach, I’m well aware sharks tend to avoid humans. But that doesn’t mean I won’t instinctively gap it out of the water when someone yells, “Shark!”.
A shark’s still a shark – and they can be scary.
But how much of that fear is earned, and how much of it is because of the “Jaws effect”, the phenomenon where people are excessively and irrationally scared of sharks?
The Department of Conservation says in the 180 years up to 2020, there had been 15 fatal shark attacks documented in New Zealand. That’s an average of one every 12 years. Compare that to the number of people who died in fatal car crashes last year – 343.
It happens, but it’s not all that common.
There are 66 species of shark in New Zealand waters and only a handful – including the great white, mako, and hammerhead – pose a threat to human life. Most others are unlikely to attack unprovoked, and any attacks that do happen aren’t likely to be fatal.
Take our friends the bronze whalers for example: Their teeth are made for grasping smaller prey like slippery fish and squid rather than big hunks of flesh.
Niwa principal scientist Dr Malcolm Francis said in 2017 that sharks have a lateral line sense that can detect vibrations in the water. “If you’re in the water and see a shark, don’t splash about and don’t panic. It’s highly unlikely that they will bite you.”
In other words, it could happen, but it probably won’t. Just be cautious and you should be fine.
I’ll tell ya what, though, I might have to change my opinion if one marine biologist’s prediction about Tauranga Harbour becoming a breeding ground for great whites does come to fruition.
Dr Riley Elliott, who has been tagging and tracking great whites in the area, used satellite tracking tags to pin the location of three great whites (Mananui, Daisy and Swaj) as part of a research project, according to RNZ.
Elliott believes Tauranga Harbour is where the sharks are having their offspring.
Yikes.
Bronzies are one thing but great whites are quite a different kettle of fish. They’re apex predators and are considered the deadliest and most dangerous shark. They’re the fish responsible for the largest number of unprovoked attacks.
And that’s scary. Maybe I am falling prey (haha) to the Jaws effect after all.
But even if I’m being irrational, a little caution never hurt anyone.
It’s sensible to be wary of deadly and dangerous creatures. But that doesn’t mean we should avoid our wonderful beaches and harbours.
I certainly won’t. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be sprinting out of the surf, legs akimbo, at the first hint of a shark.
Running is said to be the wrong thing to do in this situation, but I reckon I’ve got a better chance of surviving if I beat everyone else out of the water.
Sonya Bateson is a writer, reader and crafter raising her family in Tauranga. She is a Millennial who enjoys eating avocado on toast, drinking lattes and defying stereotypes. As a sceptic, she reserves the right to change her mind when presented with new evidence.
