A fisherman who captured the moment a massive mako shark landed on the front of his boat on Saturday says his "heart was racing".
Ryan Churches, owner of Churchy's Charters in Whitianga, told 1News they were just north of the Alderman Islands when it happened.
"We hooked a mako shark so we knew it was on there, and it started doing a bit of an aerial display, when you hook them they tend to jump around a bit, go a bit wild," he said.
"And you hear stories about them jumping on boats, but it never really happens - but, it happened this time."
Churches has been charter fishing for about five years, and said: "I've had mako jumping around and whatnot, but never like that.
"Everybody reacted a lot better than I thought they would, but .. it would've been a lot different if it landed in the back of the boat."
He estimates the shark was about 150kg and eight to nine feet long.
1News' Simon Mercep looks at what this might mean for more brushes with sharks amid warmer waters this summer. (Source: 1News)
"I was pretty shocked, the heart was racing, that's for sure. It was quite a big animal.
"He was caught on the top of the anchor so I put it down slightly and he thrashed around and slid through the bow rail."
Marine biologist and shark expert Riley Elliott posted about the incident on Instagram, praising the way those on the boat handled the situation.
"Good to see these fishermen were smart and respectful enough not to try and go up there to protect their window wipers but rather wait for the highly intelligent mako to realise it got the gymnastics routine wrong and wiggle back in," he wrote.
"Respect the ocean, wear a life jacket, watch the weather, and get a coastguard membership as the sea itself is far more dangerous than even a shark on your boat."
He told 1News changing water temperatures affect sharks' movements around New Zealand.
Riley Elliott said larger mako usually only travel south on the East Auckland Current in February. (Source: 1News)
He said that, while smaller mako can be found near the coast at cooler times of the year, larger mako like the one in the video would usually only travel south on the East Auckland Current in February.
Elliott added that warmer waters drive people into the water more as well, leading to more interactions between us and sharks.
"Now, what warming waters does for sharks, it doesn't magically make there more sharks in the water. All it does is move the distribution of certain species of shark," he said.
"So to see this very large mako shark land on the bonnet of that boat now, when water temperatures are actually quite cool, reflects that there is different changes in distribution.
"That may indicate offshore we've got warmer waters already, and that is where these fishermen were, and that is why they might've encountered this shark at this time of year."
New Zealand has also seen an uptick in juvenile great white sharks around the North Island, Elliott said. He is launching the Great White Project over summer to help understand those movements.
Mako are considered apex predators, and the shortfin mako is the fastest shark in the world according to New Zealand Geographic.
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