11 Aug 2014

Shark tags track great whites to tropics

6:24 pm on 11 August 2014

A NIWA fisheries scientist says he hopes his 10-year study mapping the travel of great white sharks will help in protecting their numbers.

A mix of minced fish and fish oil will be used to attract great white sharks.

A mix of minced fish and fish oil will be used to attract great white sharks. Photo: DOC

The NIWA and the Department of Conservation study tracked 95 sharks since 2005, mainly around the Chatham Islands and Stewart Island.

The scientists aimed to find out how mobile the sharks were, how far they travel, and their habitat requirements.

The sharks migrate to the tropics in the winter, and travel in straight lines, averaging about 100km a day.

The fisheries scientist, Malcom Francis, said the findings would hopefully help the organisations stop sharks being accidentally killed by fishing boats.