Up to 4 Great White sharks suspected to have killed a swimmer!

[Benjamin]

This happened on the beach not far from me, today.

A witness has described a police officer firing multiple shots at a shark which attacked and killed a person at Auckland's Muriwai Beach today.

Were you at the beach? Send your photos, video and newstips to newstips@stuff.co.nz

Fisherman Pio Mosie told Stuff that he saw a man swimming nearby.

"All of a sudden... we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him then blood every where on the water," he said.

He called 111 while his mate ran to get help.

"He was still alive, he put his, head up, we called him to swim over the rock to where we were.

"He raised his hand up, and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water.

"He came back up, his head was on the water... then we notice he was already dead."

He heard the police then fire shots from the police helicopter and a few shots from the life guard boat.

"I don't know if they got the shark, killed the shark or not."

Emergency staff confirmed the person's body had been pulled from the water following the early afternoon attack. The shark had been killed but was still floating in the water.

Wellington student, Stef McCallum, 18, said they were first aware something was wrong when a man ran across to the surf club to get help.

A woman told us a man had just been killed by a shark, she said.

"She said there was a big pool of blood in the water."

McCallum said they saw a police officer go out in a surf boat and shoot the shark.

"He fired about 20 shots."

Around 200 people were on the beach and people quickly ran.

"Everybody was evacuated from the water. Word of mouth, 'shark', and everybody left the water."

TV3 reported from the beach that as many as three sharks may have been involved.

A witness told them he spotted the lone swimmer while he was out fishing at the beach, shortly before 2pm.

The distressed man signalled for help when he was attacked by a shark, before he was pulled underwater.

At this point, the witness said three or four other sharks appeared in the area.

Other surfers reported a large shark in the water at the rivermouth at north Piha today.

"We thought it was pretty cheeky because it was right in the surf line, heading north," one said.

A staff member at Sand Dunz dairy said people were coming into the dairy "speechless".

"I'm shaking, I don't really want to talk about it," the shop assistant, who didn't want to be named, said. "Everyone's speechless."

Earlier this week surfer Bourne Nobel Buiski posted on Facebook that there had been a "massive" shark spotted near surfers on Monday at Piha, 14 kilometres south of Muriwai.

He said that a local man ran out of the water "white faced and terrified".

"He was saying that a great white, a massive great white had just swum right beside him," Buiski said.

No one believed him, he said.

"As they are so rare here. There were about 60 people there, and no one came in."
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A local resident, who did not want to be named, said Muriwai had always had sharks.

''Out the back of Oaia Island is a huge crater on the ocean floor and fishermen say they have seen huge sharks in the area and will not go diving there.''

The beach was crowded with children from Glen Eden Intermediate and Avondale College, a Fairfax reporter on the scene said.

Auckland City Council said the beach had been closed for the day.

Piha Beach, south of Muriwai, had also been closed, lifeguards said.

A Surf Life Saving spokeswoman said lifeguards had not spotted sharks at Piha in the past week.

She referred all questions relating to the shark attack to police.

There have been 14 known fatal shark attacks in NZ, since records began around 1837, according to Department of Conservation shark expert, Clinton Duffy.

"In the last 20 years we have been averaging two shark incidents, where the shark actually bites someone, a year."

"Those are generally on swimmers and generally result in fairly superficial flesh wounds," Duffy said.

The last death was in 2009, when a kayaker was mauled by a great white in the Coromandel - whether he drowned before the shark found him is still disputed. Before that the last death was in 1976.

Global shark attacks have increased every decade since 1900. Last year's 12 fatalities, three in Australia, was almost three times the average of 4.3 from 2001 to 2010, according to the International Shark Attack File.

There are more than 60 shark species that come to New Zealand waters. The majority are little-known species that live deep below the ocean surface.




http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8359135/Shark-attacks-and-kills-beachgoer

[Ammi]

"In the last 20 years we have been averaging two shark incidents, where the shark actually bites someone, a year."

..that seems so unusual to have 4 of them together like that..?...I wonder why they were there, what attracted them and what made them attack...that's horrible though and traumatic for everyone seeing it...poor guy..an awful way to die...

[Shaun]

not really sure what shooting the sharks would have achieved... another example of mankind's stubborn idiocy. Don't swim in parts of the ocean known to contain them :crazy:

[Omah]

I ain't scared of no sharks ..... :cool:






I'm just ...kin' terrified ..... :eek:

[Nedusa]

Hate sharks especially the big ones like the Great Whites, they serve no purpose other than to eat humans.

Kill em all wipe em out the whole species... Why not !!! I'm sick of reading about people being eaten by sharks...!!!!

[arista]

Makes a change
China is Cutting their Fins off
for soup
then the Evil punks
chuck the dying shark back in the water.

To think China can destroy our World

[arista]

Hate sharks especially the big ones like the Great Whites, they serve no purpose other than to eat humans.

Kill em all wipe em out the whole species... Why not !!! I'm sick of reading about people being eaten by sharks...!!!!


Because its needed as a balance
with other fish


Do you ever read about China
and how they Murder thousands of sharks for their soup
Thats far worse

[arista]

not really sure what shooting the sharks would have achieved... another example of mankind's stubborn idiocy. Don't swim in parts of the ocean known to contain them :crazy:

Yes
Respect them

[SharkAttack]

Surfing or swimming in the ocean, out a ways, is like parachuting. Every now and then the chute doesn't open or something goes wrong. It's a risk, always, but a very rare event.

That being said, the only thing that goes into the ocean(on the shores) are my feet, same with the kiddies.

RIP to this poor man, and agreed, not a good way to go out. :(

Worst I ever had was a crab grabbing my toe whilst surfing in the Atlantic, and stepping on an upside down horseshoe crab at some point...and then some jellyfish stings, and then nearly drowning after a riptide pulled me away in the Pacific in Guatemala. Not too bad in comparison to a shark attack. Did anyone else have parents or relatives who would sit under a beach umbrella and do Sunday crosswords without actually watching or caring what their children did? lol

[Marc]

http://i52.tinypic.com/293j8f5.png

[Kizzy]

Hate sharks especially the big ones like the Great Whites, they serve no purpose other than to eat humans.

Kill em all wipe em out the whole species... Why not !!! I'm sick of reading about people being eaten by sharks...!!!!

Exactly what I was thinking!!

[Jesus.]

not really sure what shooting the sharks would have achieved... another example of mankind's stubborn idiocy. Don't swim in parts of the ocean known to contain them :crazy:

I suppose the thinking is, that those sharks now have utilised us a food source they are more likely to attack humans again.

I agree with your point though, it satisfies revenge and blood lust in one go.

[Jesus.]

I'm loving how this thread has turned Arista into a sensible liberal.

Welcome to the world, Arista.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

http://i52.tinypic.com/293j8f5.png

:joker::joker::joker:

[Kizzy]

I suppose the thinking is, that those sharks now have utilised us a food source they are more likely to attack humans again.

I agree with your point though, it satisfies revenge and blood lust in one go.

I thought sharks only attacked humans as on surfboards as we look like turtles?
Sharks don't eat us, just chew us up a bit :yuk:

[Kazanne]

not really sure what shooting the sharks would have achieved... another example of mankind's stubborn idiocy. Don't swim in parts of the ocean known to contain them :crazy:

100% agree with this.

[Josy]

Poor guy :sad:

Hate sharks especially the big ones like the Great Whites, they serve no purpose other than to eat humans.

Kill em all wipe em out the whole species... Why not !!! I'm sick of reading about people being eaten by sharks...!!!!

They are an important part of the world/oceans and are needed to balance the ecosystem, they have been around for millions of years, maybe they think what purpose do we serve and that's why they attack humans since humans are the ones that are trespassing in their natural habitat?

[Jesus.]

I thought sharks only attacked humans as on surfboards as we look like turtles?
Sharks don't eat us, just chew us up a bit :yuk:

We'd probably look more like Seals, when on surfboards. I think the fact this guy kept being pulled down, suggests that once the blood is flowing then they grab the meat.

I don't think anyone really knows how shark brains work, but once a meal (however small) seems to be identified by natures predators, then all bets are off.

[arista]

I'm loving how this thread has turned Arista into a sensible liberal.

Welcome to the world, Arista.


I was LibDemConservative
before they got power


China is Evil on Shark killings

[Jesus.]

I was LibDemConservative
before they got power


China is Evil on Shark killings

LibDemConservative is an oxymoron, as this experiment has showed.

[GypsyGoth]

It's strange that hundreds of people get knocked down and killed by cars each day and there is hardly any outcry. One person gets eaten by a shark and people worldwide want to take revenge on sharks.

[Marc]

We should hunt the cars!!

[GypsyGoth]

We should hunt the cars!!

:worship:

With harpoons!!!

[Jesus.]

And fit sharks with ipod docking stations, and bluetooth.

[Suze]

It's strange that hundreds of people get knocked down and killed by cars each day and there is hardly any outcry. One person gets eaten by a shark and people worldwide want to take revenge on sharks.

Well there's human logic for you. It makes no sense does it.

Poor sod, but silly bugger too for putting themself in harms way in the first place.

[Niamh.]

It's strange that hundreds of people get knocked down and killed by cars each day and there is hardly any outcry. One person gets eaten by a shark and people worldwide want to take revenge on sharks.

lol exactly. Lets just eradicate a whole species, the tigers are next if they try anything funny :nono:

[Suze]

lol exactly. Lets just eradicate a whole species, the tigers are next if they try anything funny :nono:


Noooooo! :o Not the Tigers :bawling:

[Ammi]

lol exactly. Lets just eradicate a whole species, the tigers are next if they try anything funny :nono:

..actually, that's not even a joke Niamh...

http://i.imgur.com/12h7Ree.jpg

Tigers starved to make wine with bones in China

[Kizzy]

I hope you know I wasn't being serious earlier... that was my pathetic attempt at sarcasm...I'll leave that to the experts :joker:

[Nedusa]

Poor guy :sad:



They are an important part of the world/oceans and are needed to balance the ecosystem, they have been around for millions of years, maybe they think what purpose do we serve and that's why they attack humans since humans are the ones that are trespassing in their natural habitat?

Millions of years too long if you ask me, its time for the big sharks like Great Whites to shake off their mortal coil and shuffle off to the great Ocean in the sky. its time their name was added to the long list of extinct animals.

And they wouldn't be missed would they...No only difference would be the percentage of people with all their limbs would increase slightly and there would be more food (fish) for us

All in all its a Win...Win ...!!!!

[Josy]

Millions of years too long if you ask me, its time for the big sharks like Great Whites to shake off their mortal coil and shuffle off to the great Ocean in the sky. its time their name was added to the long list of extinct animals.

And they wouldn't be missed would they...No only difference would be the percentage of people with all their limbs would increase slightly and there would be more food (fish) for us

All in all its a Win...Win ...!!!!

Um I'm really not sure if you are even serious.

[Niamh.]

Me neither ^ :/

[Black Dagger]

Why should sharks be wiped out because somebody was stupid enough to swim in shark infested waters :bored:

As tragic as it is... humans rule land, sharks rule the water and if either were to go into other territory then tragedies will happen.

[MTVN]

Millions of years too long if you ask me, its time for the big sharks like Great Whites to shake off their mortal coil and shuffle off to the great Ocean in the sky. its time their name was added to the long list of extinct animals.

And they wouldn't be missed would they...No only difference would be the percentage of people with all their limbs would increase slightly and there would be more food (fish) for us

All in all its a Win...Win ...!!!!

Very poetic there, I like it

[Nedusa]

Um I'm really not sure if you are even serious.

Well spotted...............!!!

[Niamh.]

Why should sharks be wiped out because somebody was stupid enough to swim in shark infested waters :bored:

As tragic as it is... humans rule land, sharks rule the water and if either were to go into other territory then tragedies will happen.

Yeah, If I see a Shark walking down the street he better watch himself :idc:

[Black Dagger]

Yeah, If I see a Shark walking down the street he better watch himself :idc:

Don't get sarcastic with me :idc:

[MTVN]

I don't think the guy was really being stupid tbf, just horrendously unlucky. Apparently there's only been 11 deaths by sharks in NZ in the last 150 years and by the sounds of it he was just at a beach where thousands of people will go swimming every year without any problems

[Ammi]

..that's why it's so random that there were 4 together as well..how unfortunate is that...

[Kizzy]

Just a little shark family out for a stroll... haha

http://ocean.si.edu/great-white-shark

[Suze]

..actually, that's not even a joke Niamh...

http://i.imgur.com/12h7Ree.jpg

Tigers starved to make wine with bones in China

That's bloody cruel :mad: and so very sad :(

[Vicky.]

not really sure what shooting the sharks would have achieved... another example of mankind's stubborn idiocy. Don't swim in parts of the ocean known to contain them :crazy:

This 100%

[Nedusa]

I know the odds are very high against ever being involved in a Shark attack and that ultimately it is a numbers game, but if I get up in the morning with the intention of going swimming I have a reasonable expectation of going to bed that evening with the same number of arms and legs.....!!!

We do not allow Wild animals like Bears & Tigers etc to roam around populated areas so why do we allow GW sharks to swim so close to the Beach, perhaps more shark nets are the answer.

[Suze]

Yes but there again, the sea is their territory not ours, they have more right to be there than us, so maybe we should be the ones to be more cautious in situations. Man consider themselves the superior species don't they? Animals will do what is mostly their nature, humans don't always. Animals don't sit down at a drawing board to work things out, we do, yet the answer is kill the animals if they step over our line?? :conf:

[MTVN]

All us poor humans want is a little bit of sea to have a swim in, the selfish sharks have got the whole wide ocean for them to mess around in

[arista]

All us poor humans want is a little bit of sea to have a swim in, the selfish sharks have got the whole wide ocean for them to mess around in

You are Wrong
Massive Ships from China
Hook them up
Cut the Fin off - Then chuck the dying shark back in the sea


To make soup


Thats Wrong And Evil
Fact

[arista]

http://i.mol.im/i/pix/2013/02/27/article-2285192-1852D481000005DC-247_964x348.jpg


Sadly he died , but police firing machine guns in the water is wasted.


Do not swim in Shark zones
unless you have a cage

[Marc]

I don't think the guy was really being stupid tbf, just horrendously unlucky. Apparently there's only been 11 deaths by sharks in NZ in the last 150 years and by the sounds of it he was just at a beach where thousands of people will go swimming every year without any problems

Sounds like an idiot to me :idc:

[Cherie]

It says "suspected" in the thread title, innocent until proven guilty and if they get a good brief they could be out in no time.

[Benjamin]

Just read that they tried shooting the shark as they did not know if the man was dead and there was apparently a feeding frenzy as he was swimming through a school of fish so they were trying to scare the sharks away.

[Shaun]

Oh right I see, well that's fair enough then I suppose. But still, the comment in here about eradicating sharks... rofl... the most violent and murderous species on the planet, Nedusa, is us. And you're perfectly reflecting that.

[Benjamin]

Yeah, I don't agree with the mindless or revengeful killing of sharks just because they attacked a human.

[Ammi]

It says "suspected" in the thread title, innocent until proven guilty and if they get a good brief they could be out in no time.

..that should go in their favour..most lawyers are sharks...

[Shaun]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21629173

The most accurate assessment to date of the impact of commercial fishing on sharks suggests around 100 million are being killed each year.

The researchers say that this rate of exploitation is far too high, especially for a species which reproduces later in life.

The major factor driving the trade is the ongoing demand for shark fins for soup in Chinese communities.

The report has been published in the Journal Marine Policy.

Researchers admit that establishing the true level of global shark fishing is extremely difficult, as the quality of the data is poor. Many sharks that are caught have their fins removed at sea with the body dumped overboard. These fish are often not included in official reports.

However, the scientists estimate a mortality range of between 63 and 273 million sharks in 2010.

"There is a very large range and that speaks to the quality of data, which is not great," said Dr Demian Chapman from Stony Brook University in New York, US.

"Certainly 100 million is the median estimate and that's the best estimate there is," he added.

While the number of sharks being caught has not changed substantially between 2000 and 2010, the authors of the research argue that the commercial fishing fleets are simply changing location and the shark species they target in order to keep up with demand. The fear is that eventually these shark species will crash.

Fuelling the concern is the fact that many of the species that are most threatened are very slow to reproduce.

"A lot of the sharks that are prized in the trade take more than a decade to reach maturity," said Dr Chapman.

"There is a really razor-thin level of mortality that sharks can experience before their population trajectory becomes negative - that is really what's been happening.

"They are not reproducing fast enough to keep up with the rate we are pulling them out of the ocean," he added.

The biggest driver for shark fishing has been the demand for shark fin soup, a product that is seen as a luxury item among Chinese communities.

While fins are still being cut off sharks at sea, several countries including Canada, the US and the European Union have tried to restrict this by law.

But this has not had the desired effect, Dr Chapman explained.

"The problem is that the fins are so valuable that now people are not 'finning' the sharks at sea - they're keeping the whole thing. But it is still dead; the finning bans have not stopped the root problem."

On Sunday, negotiators from 178 countries will gather in Bangkok for the meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). There are proposals to regulate the trade in five of the most threatened species of shark.

At a previous meeting in 2010, similar restrictions fell just short of the required-two thirds majority. This time, campaigners say they have broad support among developed and developing countries and are optimistic they will be able to muster the required votes.

and they're the monsters.

[Livia]

..that should go in their favour..most lawyers are sharks...

How very dare you...


I reckon if you swim in waters where there are likely to be sharks, you take your chances. You're in their element. Massive revenge killings of random sharks simply shows what a dispicable species humans are generally.

[Cherie]

..that should go in their favour..most lawyers are sharks...

:laugh2:


if the guy was swimming through a shoal of fish and it was well publicised that the area is known for sharks then you do take you chances, depends how well known this was of course. Is this a tourist area?

[Apple202]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21629173



and they're the monsters.

:worship:

im terrified of sharks but i hate how after every animal attack on a human the animal is always killed despite even looking at the case. the solution is more shark nets, not killing every shark out there.

[Apple202]

Yeah, If I see a Shark walking down the street he better watch himself :idc:

:laugh2:

[Apple202]

Hate sharks especially the big ones like the Great Whites, they serve no purpose other than to eat humans.

Kill em all wipe em out the whole species... Why not !!! I'm sick of reading about people being eaten by sharks...!!!!

I would say something but I'm afraid it would get me infracted