A deep dive into the world of sharks

The Sharks Exhibition reveals how these ancient predators evolved, why they matter to our oceans, and why some are far more endearing than their reputation suggests

They have a fearsome reputation, but leading New Zealand marine expert Clinton Duffy says sharks are not all big and scary: “Actually, some of them are quite cute”.

Take the tropical epaulette shark – a small, 1m-long fish that has evolved the ability to “walk” across the seafloor and through reefs using its fins as legs.

Although its habitat is along the coastlines of northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, Duffy, the Auckland Museum Curator of Marine Biology, says its story is a good example of what the museum’s new exhibition Sharks is about: shining a light on the many surprising unknowns surrounding sharks.

Open until April 27, this summer-exclusive exhibition brings life-size shark models, hands-on science, Indigenous perspectives and interactive displays together under one roof at Auckland Museum. Designed to fascinate visitors of all ages, it shows how sharks evolved over 450 million years, their crucial role in ocean ecosystems and the challenges they face today – a standout pick for families these school holidays.

“We all know the stories of the big headline grabbers like the great white shark, but sharks are largely misunderstood creatures,” says Duffy, who has been studying the species for over 30 years.

He says the fish are culturally important to people in the Pacific and Māori – in some tapu (sacred) places they act as kaitiaki (guardians) while kapeta (school shark) are important seasonal foods for tangata whenua.

Sharks belong to a class of fish called chondrichthyes – fish with skeletons of cartilage, not bone. About 113 species of these are found in New Zealand waters, of which over 60 are sharks, 25 are rays and 12 are chimaeras (ghost sharks).

New Zealand has a lower diversity of sharks than Australia. And while some species spend part of the year in shallow coastal waters, around two-thirds live in deep waters and are rarely seen.

They range in size from the tiny pygmy shark, which grows to just 27cm long, to giant basking and whale sharks – the largest fish in the world – which can exceed 10m in length.

Encounters with large sharks usually happen in coastal waters over spring and summer when many species move inshore to give birth and feed.

Duffy says being at the top of the ocean food chain, sharks play a crucial role in regulating the populations of various marine species, helping prevent over-population of certain species and imbalances in the ecosystem. By preying on sick or weak individuals they help maintain the health of fish populations.

“Healthy sharks are a sign of a healthy ocean, but there are many threats facing them, not the least of which is over-fishing or unregulated fishing,” he says.

“Female sharks have a slow lifestyle; they mature late in life, breed just every two or three years and give birth to a relatively small number of well-developed pups when they do. They have very low resilience to fishing and when knocked back they take a long time to recover.”

A number of species are protected under the Wildlife Act (basking and whale sharks among them) and the Fisheries Act, while a small number of others are regulated through a quota management system (QMS).

But most aren’t and Duffy is hopeful that further protection initiatives will be adopted from findings of recently completed studies and research into habitats of importance for sharks around the New Zealand coastline.

Other research under way into great white shark populations (a 2018 study estimated there were about 750 mature great whites moving between New Zealand and Australia) will provide a pointer to their numbers now and how well the species is faring.

Duffy says he is excited Kiwis will get the chance to go to the exhibition and learn more about sharks. “I’ve been around sharks for a long time, but when I first saw the exhibition, I found it incredibly engaging.”

A specially designed digital oceanarium, nine life-size scientifically accurate shark models, a 3D interactive body scan exploring the anatomy of a shark, hands-on displays with a megalodon jaw, recreated shark skin, immersive projects placing sharks back into their natural habitats and interactive challenges to help adapt sharks survive in a changing environment are some of the exhibition highlights.

Auckland Museum Shark Exhibition