A Papamoa swimmer almost had a run in with a shark while visiting his local beach recently.
Gavin Hooper was just coming out of the water following a swim, when a man came running down the beach towards him.
'He was pointing at the water behind me – I turned around and just where I had been swimming there was a 2 metre long shark gliding through the waves, in about waist-deep water,” says Gavin.
'I took a photo on my phone and rang the local surf club, and they told me it would have been a bronze whaler shark.”
He says the shark hung around for about 20 minutes, its fin moving quite clearly above the waterline.
A member of the local surf club says there is a shelf along Papamoa where they come to feed on fish, so it's not uncommon to see them from time to time.
'He also said they aren't aggressive towards humans, but if you were in the water it's best to stay still and not excite them, rather than panicking.”
Gavin thinks it's a timely reminder that we're not alone in the big ocean.
'Makes me think twice about getting in the water.”
Earlier this month SunLive shared a photo of a dead shark that washed up on Papamoa Beach, while in January a bronze whaler was filmed swimming in the same area.
1 comment
Bronzie
Posted on 30-03-2017 14:01 | By About that
No need to fear Bronzies. They live in the water all along our coastline all year round. Summer months thy grow in numbers and swim amoungst us along the coast and especically in the harbour. They are opportunist feeders and will not bite a human. They prefer things much smaller. If you sit up on top of the mount during summer, you can see them in the water amoungst swimmers and 99% of the time, people dont know they are there. when we enter the water, we enter their home and we do become part of the food chain each time we go swimming. I personally go looking for them then get in the water and swim with them. With over 100 encounters, never been bitten. Gave quite a few a pat in the water and they generally take off once touched. Happy swimming!!
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