Great white shark sighting off Northland coast

Great white sharks are present around the New Zealand coastline all year round but most encounters occur between December and May. Photo / Clinton Duffy

A great white shark, believed to be around 3m long, has been spotted leaping out of the water off the coast of Whangārei.

Whangārei Heads local Chris Nathan watched from his home overlooking Reotahi Bay as the white pointer made a “hell of splash” as it jumped earlier this afternoon.

Nathan first saw the shark around 12pm but it proceeded to hang around for at least 40 minutes. During that time, he saw it leap out of the water twice.

While he thought the shark measured around 3m long, he said it could have been bigger based on the splash.

The sighting was the first time Nathan, a long-time Whangārei Heads resident, had seen a great white shark in the area or one jump for that matter.

“I’ve seen a mako jump,” he said. “This definitely wasn’t a mako though or a bronzie [bronze whaler].”

Nathan recognised it as a great white because of the shark’s white underbelly.

Without a photo, the Department of Conservation (DoC) was unable to confirm the shark was a great white.

DoC shark expert Clinton Duffy acknowledged that although great white sharks of that size have been regularly sighted in the area almost all sharks have white undersides. He said species such as bronze whalers and less frequently mako also occur in the harbour, and both breach as part of their normal behaviour.

Based on the shark’s behaviour, Duffy thought it had most likely been hunting. However, he noted some sharks breach to remove parasites and remora (shark suckerfish).

Duffy said great white sharks are a very common part of Northland’s coastal and offshore environment at this time of the year. Juveniles, which measure 1.5m to 3.5m in length, are relatively common in large harbours during the summer months .

According to DoC, most encounters occur between December and May, and sightings peak during spring and summer as several coastal shark species head inshore to pup and feed.

“Swimming at night and in or near deep tidal channels is not recommended, sharks being only one reason this is not a good idea,” Duffy said.

News of the shark was not a surprise to some as others shared recent encounters with great whites in the Whangārei Heads area.

A woman said her 19-year-old son and his friend came across “a large one” as they spearfished at Peach Cove, near the Bream Head Scenic Reserve, on Boxing Day.

She said the pair thought the shark had been bigger than their 3.6m boat.

A New Zealand app that displays the locations of great white sharks in real time shows a 1.4m baby great white, known as SWAJ, is currently off the coast of Kaipara near Glinks Gully.

The Great White App shows SWAJ off the coast of Kaipara. Photo / Great White App

Last March, SWAJ - Jaws backwards - spent more than a month nestled in the southern corner of Doubtless Bay in the Far North. The shark - described by shark scientist Dr Riley Elliott as the “cutest” and “smallest” he had seen - had journeyed from Tauranga Harbour to the Mangōnui coastline.

At the time Elliott thought murky waters caused by Cyclone Gabrielle may have forced her out as hunting could have been difficult, or the nursery range of a great white shark could be larger than theorised.

“The animals go where the food is,” he said.

When it comes to shark encounters Duffy said boaties had little to worry about but kayak and paddle boarders should quietly leave the area. He encouraged divers to dive in pairs and remove speared fish from the water as soon as possible - as well as themselves.

While he said people in or on the water needed to be aware of the environment at all times, whenever predators such as large schooling fishes, dolphins and seabirds are seen feeding it is likely one or more sharks will also be present.