SHARKS FOLLOW LAUNCH.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 24, 28 December 1925, Page 2

SHARKS FOLLOW LAUNCH.

SCHOOL OF FIVE HUNDRED,

ADVENTURE OUTSIDE SYDNEY

A school of 500 hungry sharks followed a small- motor-launch for two miles outside Sydney harbour last week. Their sinister black fins seemed to bo everywhere, as far as the eye could roach.

To add to the peril of tho situation, there was a strong north-easter blowing, with a difficult “following” sea, and tho crew of tho 30-foot launch were hard put to it to avoid being swamped time and again. “The sharks seemed to know wo were in danger,” said one of the crow. “They gavo us the impression that they were ‘dwelling’ on us. Wo weren’t sorry to reach port!” The launch was tho Supreme, 30ft. in length and with a 9ft. beam. The school of sharks was met two miles south of North Head, when the launch was standing fully nine miles out from shore to avoid dangerous shoals. The sharks, which wero mostly grey nurse and pointers, swam all round the launch. They wero mostly 6ft. to Bft, long. 'the curious part of the experionco was that there wore no fish in sight; neither were there any porpoises, and the crew of the launch wero at a loss to understand why they were being followed by such a sinister host —unless it was that tlve sharks knew they were in danger of being swamped, and wero waiting to feast on their bodies. The officer in charge of the Fisheries Department, Mr A. W. Wood, is surprised at the crew’s adventure, Ho said it was a most unusual happening, but was not impossiblo. He himself had seen sharks cruising round in schools of a hundred and two hundred, or so, and therefore he could not soo why such a largo school should net follow a launch. “At tho present time,” said Mr Wood, “it is the breeding season of sharks, and naturally they are very ferocious. From December to February sharks are the most dangerous. Big schools of salmon are off our coast, and these monsters attack thorn in great numbers, salmon being one of their staplo foods.” Mr Wood said that unless a shark was extremely hungry lie would not attack a human being in the srirf. Nevertheless, it was not advisable to take any foolhardy risks.