Around 5500 great white sharks are lurking in the waters between New Zealand and Australia, new research has revealed.
For the first time, the CSIRO has been able to put a number on the size of the white shark population in the Tasman using world-first genetic analysis.
It estimates there are about 750 adults in waters east off Victoria's southern coast, up to central Queensland and across to New Zealand.
Taking juvenile sharks into account, researchers believe the total population off the Australian east coast sits at 5460 - but could be as high as 12,800.
It's estimated another 1460 adult white sharks live off Australia's south-western coast, but a total calculation is yet to be made.