Shark remains in net

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34042, 5 January 1976, Page 14

Shark remains in net

DUNEDIN. Jan. 4. A huge shark's vertebrae was recovered from the shark nets off Dunedin’s St Clair and St Kilda beaches on Saturday. The vertebrae was from one of 14 sharks caught in the nets, said Mr J. Malcolm, who services the nets. The sharks caught included gil’ sharks, grev sharks, and threshers The shark’s vertebrae, the largest of which were about 20 centimetres across, indicated a shark of about 30ft,' said the assistant director of the Otago museum (Mr J. Darby ).

He said that while the vertebrae belonged to a huge shark, it would be easier to

i identify the exact size and species of the shark from its teeth. Mr Darbv said the shark i was probably too big to be a white pointer, most feared among the known man-eating sharks, the largest recorded i being 21ft or 22ft long. The ■ shark was more likely to be ! a whale shark or basking shark, “both of which are completely harmless.’’ The warm weather could have something to do with the large number of sharks caught in the nets. Mr Darby said.

The 14 sharks caught brings the total to 17 sharks caught so far this season, compared with only 18 for the whole of last season. The most sharks caught in one season so far are the 42 recovered from the nets in 1973. There are also signs that sharks have been caught in

the nets off Brighton Beach, I south of Dunedin, but Mr Malcolm was unable to get 'to the nets to check them (this week-end. The superintendent of the Moana Pool (Mr G. David) who controls the laying of the shark nets for the Dunedin City Council, said the floats on the Brighton nets were down and one had been dragged out to sea. There could be a big shark in the net. he said. “There may be a bit of shark mania at the moment, but it is very’ real here.” Mr David said the 14 sharks caught were evenly' spread along the St Clair 1 and St Kilda nets, and that this was most unusual. The sharks were definitely here —but what interested him was to find out why they; l were coming close to shore, j Mr Darby said.