Feeding bronze whaler sharks along the waterfront near the famous Mangonui Fish Shop has been a common occurrence over the years.
Feeding bronze whaler sharks along the waterfront near the famous Mangonui Fish Shop has been a common occurrence over the years.
A video featuring sharks being fed on the water’s edge at a Far North tourist town has raised concerns about the risks associated with the longstanding tradition.
Feeding bronze whaler sharks near the famous Mangonui Fish Shop, on the harbour’s edge near the Mangonui wharf, has been a common occurrence over the years.
But a video posted on the Far North District Community Noticeboard Facebook page has some questioning whether the popular pastime should be continued, especially as the harbour is a popular swimming spot for local kids who jump off the jetty.
The video, posted on August 17, shows someone throwing food in the water, and two large fins appearing, followed by screams of ‘oh my god’ from young bystanders.
The man who posted the video, a member of the Mangonui yachting community who spends time there in summer, said people can often be seen feeding the sharks “right next to the shop”.
The bronze whaler is one of the most abundant large shark species in New Zealand coastal waters.
The man, who asked not to be named, said he was “pretty neutral” about the topic, but people, including children, had the right to be safe while swimming.
“I know the sharks really well ... I’ve swum with them and they’ve been fine.
“They’re not there to hurt us, but if they’ve just finished a feed, and there’s a splash like a fish ... they could easily make a mistake.
“My biggest thing is the kids, the kids have every right to use the harbour.”
Marine scientist and shark expert Clinton Duffy said the bronze whaler sharks posed minimal risk to people.
“I’ve jumped in the water with a very close relative, the Caribbean reef shark, with no protection at all.
“Obviously that’s not recommended for everybody.
“But realistically, these sharks are no risk - they’re there naturally, they’re there all the time.”
According to Niwa, the bronze whaler is one of the largest reef shark species and one of the most abundant large shark species in New Zealand coastal waters.
They are a large shark - up to three metres long – and mainly eat small schooling fishes such as kahawai.
While not normally aggressive towards humans, spear fishers have been bitten by “excited sharks”.
Duffy, the curator of marine biology at Auckland Museum, said generally, bronze whalers were not aggressive toward people and usually avoided them.
However, they can become aggressive with spear fisherman “because that’s a competitive situation”.
Feeding bronze whaler sharks along the waterfront near the famous Mangonui Fish Shop has been a common occurrence over the years.
“I have occasionally heard of them grabbing hold of a hand or fin to see what it is. That can happen even without feeding.
“This [feeding sharks in Mangonui] has been going on for a long time, and it hasn’t caused any problems which reinforces that the risk is pretty low.
“Just don’t go jumping in the water with them when they’re being fed.”
Some social media comments said it was “dangerous” and “a stupid idea”, and that encouraging sharks so close to the shore was “risky”, especially at a popular swimming spot.
Others said it was nothing new and didn’t see any harm in it, with some pointing out the historic fishing town is, after all, named after sharks.
Mangonui resident Danny Simms said feeding sharks was “very irresponsible”.
Simms, a recreational sailor who’s lived in Mangonui for 20 years, said he was in the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia around a decade ago when tragedy struck due to humans feeding sharks.
A TV crew looking for footage of Napoleon wrasse fish began throwing food in the water to attract them.
“The sharks came round as well,” Simms said.
“Local kids used to swim there all the time, they’d jump off the wharf ...the sharks identified a child as food and one got killed.”
Mangonui, which means “big shark” in te reo Māori, is living up to its name.
Simms said feeding sharks, like any animal, resulted in “learned behaviour”.
“It’s a normal thing for a wild creature to associate an area or people with food; they assume it’s more food coming.
“When something goes in the water they will associate it with food.
“It’s a foolish thing to do in an area where people swim.”
Earlier this year, Whangārei Heads local Chris Nathan was surprised to see a great white shark leaping out of the water off the coast of Whangārei.
Also this year, a Whangārei man had a close encounter with a curious whale shark off the Northland coast when it swam around and underneath his boat.
And in February 2023, Australian man Chris Davis was killed by a four-metre tiger shark in New Caledonia while swimming about 150 metres from the beach.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.
