An abundance in shark sightings at popular swimming spots this summer has some questioning whether New Zealand has a shark problem.
Giant bronze whalers have been caught on camera in shallow waters circling around busy wharfs and recreational boaties in Northland who argue they're stealing their catch.
Rick Pollock who fishes off Coopers Beach said he is worried about the number of bronze whalers in particular, that are becoming "incredibly opportunistic".
"It is certainly a worry for fishermen. We're losing a tremendous amount of fish to bronze whalers, especially the inshore species like snapper and kingfish.
"They know when and how to get them on the end of the line when they get tethered, fishermen are just losing more and more each year to the point where we can't really fish in our favourite spots because they're so overloaded with bronze whalers," he said.
Two resident bronze whalers have made the Mangaonui wharf in the Far North their home. Pollock showed the sharks jumping as he throws in old fish carcuses as bait.
Commercial fisherman Leighton Matthews was fishing off Ahipara when six bronze whalers began circluing his boat. When bait was thrown into the water they went into a "frenzy" and charged it.
"Certainly, water temperatures are increasing as the years go by and it's proven to be much more of a seasonal situation in that they prefer the warmer water," said Pollock.
Shark scientist Riley Elliot said there's very little information currently on New Zealand's shark population, with the Department of Conservation (DOC) relying on public reports to track endangered shark species.
"In the last 50 years humans have killed 70% of the world's large sharks, so it's not very comforting, but it's [a] fact," he said.
"There's very little done in this country, especially on large sharks like bronze whalers for example. Even though they're our most common coastal species, they're the ones we see generally in the news that interact with us when we try to go swimming".
19-year-old social media fisher influencer, William Lomus, said he believes shark numbers are the same but that reporting of them has increased.
"Always [at] this time of year there's sharks around. [In] summer time obviously they come into the harbours to breed, I think more people are talking about them and there's more footage going out going onto the social media platforms and then people start talking about it".
"Now all of a sudden there's more sharks, but reality there's not," said Lomus.
The Houhora local makes a living from his fishing content and his shark videos have proven especially popular.
Martime New Zealand figures reveal more people are hitting the water now than ever before, with a whopping 55% of Kiwis involved in some form of recreational boating.
The Coastguard has said it's membership has more than doubled over the last six years.
"There's more of us in the water during summer. There's more drones, more polar sunglasses, there's more people boating [and] swimming," agrees Elliot.
DOC said recreational fishers and others out on the water can make a "significant contribution" to research through reporting sightings and accidental catches and are encouraging people to report and take pictures of any rare or protected sharks they may encounter.
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