Great white sharks are expected in Bay of Plenty waters this summer. Photo: Gérard Soury / Biosphoto
A team of top shark experts are launching a project to investigate an increase in great white sharks in Bay of Plenty waters.
The region has recorded the most extended marine heatwave ever seen in New Zealand - a heatwave that has been ongoing for over nine months.
Calls to monitor growing shark numbers increased last summer after members of the region's surfing and fishing communities became increasingly fearful for their safety on the water.
The University of Waikato's Phil Ross is spearheading the new research team in collaboration with local iwi, and according to the marine biologist, more sharks are highly likely this summer.
"There's no reason that this summer will be any different to last summer," he said.
While warmer waters have been cited as the reason great whites are attracted to the region's coastal waters, Ross said higher water temperatures alone were not the only reason for the increased shark population.
"This is what the researchers will be looking at, as well as monitoring the number and location of sharks with satellite tagging," he said.
"As an apex predator, they are a species we need to know more about in order to keep the community and visitors safe. But they are also a valuable part of our ocean species and need protecting."
Marine ecologist Phil Ross. Photo: RNZ / Leah Tebbutt
None of the project's activities will be harmful to sharks in any way.
Ross said the research is in partnership with tangata whenua, and claimed he was thrilled to be part of "a kick-ass team that will be working towards answering the pressing questions our community has about white sharks in and around Tauranga Moana".
Reon Tuanau, from Otawhiwhi marae, said he was grateful to be part of a project that will combine science with Māori tikanga.
"We have a good relationship with Phil, who approached our hāpu as we've had concerns about increased numbers since a fatal attack near here," said Tuanau.
"The increase in water temperatures are often mentioned, so it is going to be good to get real answers on what is going on, particularly as summer starts. That is when it's all action."
Tuanau said that while there was obvious concern, it was important not to demonise sharks.
"Portrayals like Jaws are not helpful. The ocean is a sharks' natural home, and they are part and parcel of our environment. People have been afraid because of lack of information, and this information is key to knowledge.
Sharks are more than just the image we get from Jaws, experts say. Photo: AFP
"We're looking forward to finding out more about their behaviours and numbers - dispelling some myths, getting real answers and feeding them back to our communities."
Waihī Beach in the Western Bay of Plenty was the scene of the last fatal shark attack in New Zealand in January 2021, when Hamilton woman Kaelah Marlow died after being mauled in the ocean by a great white shark.
This was the first fatal shark attack in the region since 1976, when a spear fisherman was killed by a bronze whaler shark at Te Kaha - a small beach town near Ōpōtiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Since the attack at Waihī Beach there have been a number of great white shark sightings over the past year, with videos posted online of sharks circling fishing boats and chasing fish.
In December 2021, two great white sharks washed up on Bowentown beach, near the scene of the fatal attack a month later.
Since then, encounters have increased.
Earlier this year Mount surfer Vaughan Wilson had a near miss with a "3.5-metre monster" just off Matakana Island.
Wilson told Stuff that the shark was in hunting mode and "out to kill" as it leapt out of the water with "jaws wide open", narrowly missing a 14-year-old boy who was surfing with his father and Wilson nearby.
The research team will get up close with the sharks with Kina Scollay, the country's most experienced shark cage diving expert. Scollay is a founding member of New Zealand's Great White Shark Research Project, and pioneered the observation of great whites in Aotearoa.
Scollay's love of sharks was at first bite after he was attacked by a great white while paua diving off the Chatham Islands 20 years ago. At that time there was little scientific knowledge of the species, which drove him to develop his research.
Kina Scollay is the country's most experienced shark cage diving expert. Photo:
Also on board are Clinton Duffy from the Department of Conservation - who Ross describes as a world-class shark expert - along with Darren Parsons, a fisheries scientist from Niwa, and Caine Taiapa from Manaaki Te Awanui, an environmental research group based in the coastal marine field station at the University of Waikato.
Dr. Mark Erdmann, vice president of Conservation International's Asia-Pacific marine programmes, will be adding his expertise on the satellite tracking of endangered sharks and rays.
Despite being in early September, marine heat waves remain ongoing in many New Zealand coastal areas.
The record extended marine heatwave in the Bay of Plenty was revealed by Dr Malene Felsing of the Moana Project, in which MetService researchers collate New Zealand's most extensive ocean temperature data via sophisticated sensors on commercial fishing gear.
"We have over 250 sensors attached to commercial fishing gear, from inshore cray potters to deep water trawlers in the Southern Ocean, sending back ocean temperature and depth data," Felsing said.
"These sensors collected an astounding 4.3 million observations last year, and 700,000 alone in the month of June. Altogether, the sensors have been collecting underwater data for a combined time of over 12 years.
"In 2020, New Zealand had almost no real-time observations of coastal ocean temperatures, and now we have millions thanks to the fishing industry."
The ocean temperature data collected will be incorporated into MetService ocean forecasts, improving accuracy.
"From the more accurate models we get better forecasts, including for marine heatwaves," explained Felsing. "This vital information will help us prepare for and mitigate climate change impacts."
"Looking to the future, Moana Project research shows that average sea temperatures could increase by 1.4 degrees by 2060, and by almost three degrees by the end of the century.
"This has wide implications for marine life, including fisheries and aquaculture. This means that by mid-century we may be facing 260 days of marine heatwaves per year, increasing to 350 days by 2100."
* This story originally appeared on Stuff.