Man attacked by shark in Papamoa; DOC Warning on Great Whites in the Port of Tauranga

An Auckland man was left bloodied and slightly injured after a shark bit his arm at Papamoa Beach in the Bay of Plenty.

The attack, for what the man described as a baby shark, comes as the Department of Conservation (DOC) calls for caution in the nearby port of Tauranga this long weekend after several possible sightings of great white sharks.

“He gave me a scare, luckily he didn’t hook, and when I surfaced he was gone,” the man told Stuff after the incident Wednesday night. “I rubbed the water out of my eyes once I came to the surface and as I did so I felt like a great rush of water, I guess it went through my tail like a whip.”

“I got to shore and I saw a guy about to go into the water. I stopped him and explained what had happened. Then we both pulled the other nine people out of the water, a couple of kids too.”

It did not require hospital treatment, but the close encounter with the shark, an unknown species, comes as the Department of Conservation warns of great whites in the nearby port of Tauranga.

People should be vigilant and avoid swimming in the main channels of the port or fishing from kayaks and jet skis, the organization advised.

DOC Marine Technical Advisor Clinton Duffy said the public needed to remember that they were sharing coastal waters with several different shark species.

“There are always sharks around our coast and sometimes they can get close to shore.”

He said that there had recently been several confirmed and unconfirmed sightings of great white sharks in the port of Tauranga.

“It is not unusual for them to be there, however when we visit the ocean we need to be a little vigilant and aware of what is going on around us. Swim where there are life-saving surf patrols, and don’t swim or dive alone.”

Great white sharks are protected by the Wildlife Act of 1953 and it is illegal to hunt, kill, or harm them.

Other protected shark species in New Zealand include the basking shark, the oceanic whitetip shark, the small-toothed sand tiger (deep-sea nurse shark), and the whale shark.