Sharks spotted off Tauranga beaches

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Police in Tauranga warned swimmers along the Mount Maunganui and Papamoa coastline to watch out for sharks after a group of five or six were spotted this afternoon.

Senior Sergeant Rob Glencross said a member of the public phoned in the warning about 3pm.

The group of sharks was sighted about 30m off shore, near Sunbrae Ave in Papamoa.

"That's where they were seen. There were five or six and I don't know what type,'' he said.

Jacqui van der Beek, who was at Omanu Beach between Papamoa and Mount Maunganui with her children at 4.30pm, said she hadn't seen the sharks and hadn't been alerted there were any in the area.

"We haven't see anything - we've got lots of people in the water,'' she said.|

There were no Omanu lifeguards on duty when she spoke. At Mount Maunganui, too, there were no lifeguards on duty, and locals there said they hadn't seen or heard anything about the group of sharks.