Sharks lured to pier

ABBY GILLIES | 5th May 2010

Fishermen throwing blood and guts off New Brighton pier to lure sharks are endangering swimmers and surfers.

Several blue sharks have been caught off the pier in the last six weeks - an unusually high number for the area.

New Brighton sport and fishing shop owner Pete Hart is concerned about what is being thrown off the pier to draw potentially dangerous fish close to shore.

And his worry is backed up by shark experts.

"If you chuck blood and guts in the water, sharks will turn up, someone will get bitten and that will be the end of that," said Mr Hart.

Department of Conservation marine scientist Clinton Duffy said while blue sharks were typically shy, using this kind of bait could cause them to target swimmers and surfers.

"Under those circumstances, their behaviour does change. They become strongly persistent and are very difficult to scare away.Large blue sharks are capable of removing a chunk out of you," he said.

The sharks were also particularly attracted to bright objects, such as hands and feet, which appear bright white in the water, he said.Blue sharks are the most common shark in New Zealand waters and can grow up to 4m long.

While they a number of people have been bitten, the sharks generally weren't life threatening, said Mr Duffy.

The pier is a popular surfing spot because of good waves.

Surfer Mike Oakley said there had been more sharks than usual recently and had some concerns about the dangers.

"Throwing blood and guts in the water is not a good thing - it could draw sharks," he said.

But Mr Oakley said surfers were aware of the risks.

There was a long history of problems between fishermen and surfers in the area, he said.

"They cast their lines at you and say we're scaring off the fish."

Mr Hart said the fishermen were exploiting the lack of regulations about what can be used for bait, putting surfers at risk.

"I would hate to see someone hurt because of something like that," he said.