Shark Reports Reiterated

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32119, 15 October 1969, Page 30

Shark Reports Reiterated

Porpoises were not responsible for shark alerts at Christchurch beaches over the last few days, according to members of the Canterbury Aero Club and others who have seen the creatures from the air.

Commenting last evening on a report that surf life-saving chib members believed the sightings might have been of large schools of porpoises, an aero club instructor (Mr P. A. Perano) said that what he had seen were definitely sharks.

Mr Perano is a membet of the family which until several years ago whaled at Tory Channel. He said identification of sharks was easier from the air than from land. Porpoises had horizontal tail fins while sharks had vertical tail fins. The sharks he had seen were mostly basking sharks, Mr Perano said, although there might have been other species. The operations manager of the club (Mr N. Gibson) saad that it was easy for people who had not seen the sharks to say what they were.

“If they want to believe that what we have seen are porpoises, they can,” he said, “but I know what I saw.” Another airman, who did not wish to be named, said he had seen what he at first took to be a whale as he flew over the coast on Monday afternoon. Closer inspection showed it to be a huge shark. ! T thought 1 was seeing things.” he said. “1 tried to compare it with something as 1 flew over the city and the closest to its size was a bus. It was certainly no porpoise.” Police are continuing warnings to the public. “Until we know what the creatures are for certain we will treat them as sharks,” a police spokesman said. A 25-foot shark was reported at Shag Rock early yesterday morning heading up the estuary, but nothing was found by the police. A Sumner resident later reported seeing 12 sharks close Inshore off Whitewash Head.