Nothing could have been done to save the life of a swimmer who was killed by a great white shark in the Bay of Plenty last year, a coroner's report says.
Kaelah Marlow, 19, died at Waihī Beach on January 7, 2021, after being bitten by a 2.8m-long great white.
She had travelled to the beach from Hamilton with her friends. They had decided to leave the water after deciding the current was too strong, but Marlow didn't make it back to shore.
An IRB was launched to get her, locating her 300-400m from shore yelling "shark". By the time the boat reached her it was clear she had been bitten.
Marlow was rushed to shore, suffering from a massive amount of blood loss. She received medical help but died shortly after.
It's believed that she was bitten by a great white shark, based on post-mortem evidence.
A coroner's report into her death has found there was nothing lifeguards could've done to prevent her death.
"The shark attack was entirely unexpected, and in the circumstances, there was nothing that the lifeguards could have done to prevent Kaelah's death on the information they had available to them," coroner Michael Robb said.
"I conclude that the lifeguards were appropriately undertaking their responsibilities to observe Kaelah and were already actively taking action to check on her when she suffered her fatal injury."
Robb had looked at what the cause and circumstances of Marlow's death were, if anything could have been done to prevent it, and if anything could be done to reduce the likelihood of someone's death from an attack in the future.
Robb found Marlow had died from cardiovascular shock due to massive blood loss due to a massive shark bite to part of her right thigh.
Robb's report noted shark attacks are incredibly unlikely in New Zealand, with only 61 unprovoked attacks taking place between 1852 and 2020. Only five occurred in the Bay of Plenty during this time.
It said that while attacks are rare, they often occur because humans are in a shark's domain and people should be careful when swimming.
"While the risk is statistically low, in entering the marine domain people are entering a region where sharks live and feed and with great whites part of our shark population the risk of fatal attack remains," Robb said.
He made a number of recommendations. The first said research, including tagging and satellite monitoring, be undertaken of great white sharks in the North Island to identify population, age, location, movements and feeding habits. This was to better determine the level and circumstances of shark attack risk in the Bay of Plenty.
The second recommendation said surf lifeguard towers should be built to keep an eye on the water and that local authorities introduce or amend bylaws to allow for tall, permanent towers.
The third recommendation suggested drones be utilised for the benefit of surf lifeguards to be able to spot distressed swimmers far away from the shore.
The fourth recommendation said signage warnings should be put in place warning swimmers of the increased risk of attack if they're alone or swimming beyond the breakers - even if attacks are rare.
Robb lastly recommended lifeguards warn swimmers of the dangers of swimming beyond the breakers.
"I take this opportunity to extend my condolences to Kaelah’s family and friends who continue to grieve as a result of her sudden and tragic death," he concluded.
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