Steven King with the kingfish he was unwilling to share with a shark.
A Whangārei man was forced to defend himself against a “massive” shark that zeroed in on him while spearfishing near the Hen and Chickens Islands.
Just over a week ago, Steven King was spearfishing in the deep waters near a well-known reef when he was suddenly confronted by a four-metre-long bronze whaler.
He had just finished a 10 minute battle with a 20kg kingfish he had speared that ended with the pair in the shallows of the reef.
“Then a big bronzy showed up,” he said. “And it was all up real close and personal.”
King’s kids and his wife, Alicia, watched from the boat right next to him in the water as the shark chased the kingfish, trying to bite it.
“I’ve had them pinch fish before, and you see them quite regularly, but that one gave us a bit of a fright,” King said.
“That one was just out of the blue. I’ve never had a shark have a go at me.”
Department of Conservation shark expert Clinton Duffy said bronze whalers reach a maximum length of about 3.3m.
Given the size of the shark King encountered, Duffy said it could have been a dusky shark which can sometimes be more aggressive than bronze whalers and grows up to 4m long.
“In Australia the dusky shark, Carcharhinus obscurus, is often misidentified as the bronze whaler. The two species are superficially very similar [...]”
But the size of their teeth and dorsal fins sets them apart, Duffy explained.
“Dusky sharks have been seen in the outer Hauraki Gulf but are much rare than bronze whalers.”
Duffy said if the shark involved had been a dusky shark then that could explain why it was so aggressive.
“[Bronze whalers] are not usually aggressive toward humans but are attracted to struggling fish and fish blood so often steal off spearfishers.”
However, Duffy noted that can change if the sharks perceive divers as potential competitors for fish.
Bronze whalers are one of the most abundant large shark species in the country’s coastal waters and the most likely to be encountered by divers from Cape Reinga down to Cook Strait.
In summer, they live in shallow coastal waters – reefs, bays, estuaries and surf beaches - before moving further offshore for winter.