The third Great White shark has been tagged!!!
Mananui is named by Te Whānau a Tauwhao, the Hapū of the area where she was tagged. She is a female Great White shark, 3.2m in length, making her the largest Great White tagged so far. Her presence was awe inspiring, in size and demeanour. She wears battle scars and scratches, but was cautious and calculated. This prestige led to her naming; Mananui is the inshore headland of Bowentown, looking over the area she was tagged. Mananui was a stronghold Pā site protecting Te Whānau a Tauwhao people. This Great White was identified through fishermen photos by Dr Elliott, as having resided in this area for the last three summers and thus, like Mananui the Pā, she represents a stronghold presence of prestige and great mana.
At this size she is classified as a sub-adult, which means she is no longer a juvenile, but is not reproductively mature. Generally at this size/age, Great Whites’ metabolism speeds up, requiring them to feed on seals. Their teeth widen for hunting this prey, compared to more needle-like teeth of juveniles which eat fish.
Mananui is now on the Great White App so follow her movements live every time she surfaces.
This tag was offered as a Koha to the local Iwi of this area, who culturally respect the Moana and animals which reside in it. The presence of Great Whites in their area is seen as a blessing, as Māori myth and legend depict the Great White as a guardian of people, with the legendary Mangoroa being a Great White which was placed into the night sky becoming the Milky Way as we see it today.
I was humbled to have the local Hapū Te Whanau a Tauwhao bless my Waka with a Karakia for its voyage in tagging Great Whites in this Moana.
While it may look intense tagging her, you will see that the specific tag placement is as non invasive as it gets in this field of work and that’s reflected by the fact that she turned right around and continued to bless us with her interactions for several hours.
And thank you to @extremeboats.nz @yamahamarinenz @gfabtrailers @raymarine_nz @mazda_nz @seadek for their support in enabling this Waka to do her mission.
I didn’t create a shark app to try and scare surfers. I created it because I am a surfer. I was afraid of sharks as a surfer. It’s easy to be a tough guy and think a good shark is a dead shark, from the safety of a boat. But try acting like that sitting on a polystyrene board, chest deep in the sharks’ domain.
My thoughts were either stick with ignorance is bliss and just walk blind in the savannahs, so to speak. Or learn what a shark is, how they behave, when and where they are dangerous and apply this info out of respect to this capable predator, given I am literally playing in its hunting ground.
Choosing the latter has taken me all around the world. I’ve dived with almost every single large shark species and I am still here. But I am still afraid of sharks. And it’s ok to be afraid of an apex predator. You should be. It’s natural instinct. How we react to fear is the important thing. Malice is wrong and short lived and generally only possible from cowards on a boat. Respectfully informed and accepting of self instigated risk is the reality surfers should take, and most do.
The Great White app may be scary to some, but I guarantee you that in the long run, knowing what’s out there is more beneficial to you and those animals. I think it’s important to walk the talk in this day and age. I love to surf and I love learning about sharks.
I have had nothing but positive feedback about the Great White tracking. I see it as similar to a ski slope, where you are provided with information about risk and then you choose where to go play.
How do you feel about it?
Images by @jimagesnz
I didn’t create a shark app to try and scare surfers. I created it because I am a surfer. I was afraid of sharks as a surfer. It’s easy to be a tough guy and think a good shark is a dead shark, from the safety of a boat. But try acting like that sitting on a polystyrene board, chest deep in the sharks’ domain.
My thoughts were either stick with ignorance is bliss and just walk blind in the savannahs, so to speak. Or learn what a shark is, how they behave, when and where they are dangerous and apply this info out of respect to this capable predator, given I am literally playing in its hunting ground.
Choosing the latter has taken me all around the world. I’ve dived with almost every single large shark species and I am still here. But I am still afraid of sharks. And it’s ok to be afraid of an apex predator. You should be. It’s natural instinct. How we react to fear is the important thing. Malice is wrong and short lived and generally only possible from cowards on a boat. Respectfully informed and accepting of self instigated risk is the reality surfers should take, and most do.
The Great White app may be scary to some, but I guarantee you that in the long run, knowing what’s out there is more beneficial to you and those animals. I think it’s important to walk the talk in this day and age. I love to surf and I love learning about sharks.
I have had nothing but positive feedback about the Great White tracking. I see it as similar to a ski slope, where you are provided with information about risk and then you choose where to go play.
How do you feel about it?
Images by @jimagesnz
I didn’t create a shark app to try and scare surfers. I created it because I am a surfer. I was afraid of sharks as a surfer. It’s easy to be a tough guy and think a good shark is a dead shark, from the safety of a boat. But try acting like that sitting on a polystyrene board, chest deep in the sharks’ domain.
My thoughts were either stick with ignorance is bliss and just walk blind in the savannahs, so to speak. Or learn what a shark is, how they behave, when and where they are dangerous and apply this info out of respect to this capable predator, given I am literally playing in its hunting ground.
Choosing the latter has taken me all around the world. I’ve dived with almost every single large shark species and I am still here. But I am still afraid of sharks. And it’s ok to be afraid of an apex predator. You should be. It’s natural instinct. How we react to fear is the important thing. Malice is wrong and short lived and generally only possible from cowards on a boat. Respectfully informed and accepting of self instigated risk is the reality surfers should take, and most do.
The Great White app may be scary to some, but I guarantee you that in the long run, knowing what’s out there is more beneficial to you and those animals. I think it’s important to walk the talk in this day and age. I love to surf and I love learning about sharks.
I have had nothing but positive feedback about the Great White tracking. I see it as similar to a ski slope, where you are provided with information about risk and then you choose where to go play.
How do you feel about it?
Images by @jimagesnz
I didn’t create a shark app to try and scare surfers. I created it because I am a surfer. I was afraid of sharks as a surfer. It’s easy to be a tough guy and think a good shark is a dead shark, from the safety of a boat. But try acting like that sitting on a polystyrene board, chest deep in the sharks’ domain.
My thoughts were either stick with ignorance is bliss and just walk blind in the savannahs, so to speak. Or learn what a shark is, how they behave, when and where they are dangerous and apply this info out of respect to this capable predator, given I am literally playing in its hunting ground.
Choosing the latter has taken me all around the world. I’ve dived with almost every single large shark species and I am still here. But I am still afraid of sharks. And it’s ok to be afraid of an apex predator. You should be. It’s natural instinct. How we react to fear is the important thing. Malice is wrong and short lived and generally only possible from cowards on a boat. Respectfully informed and accepting of self instigated risk is the reality surfers should take, and most do.
The Great White app may be scary to some, but I guarantee you that in the long run, knowing what’s out there is more beneficial to you and those animals. I think it’s important to walk the talk in this day and age. I love to surf and I love learning about sharks.
I have had nothing but positive feedback about the Great White tracking. I see it as similar to a ski slope, where you are provided with information about risk and then you choose where to go play.
How do you feel about it?
Images by @jimagesnz
Daisy the Great White has made an incredible journey. She was first tagged inside the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, by Bowentown and then was tracked to the eastern BOP by the East Cape where she resided for some weeks in a very refined area, likely feeding on spawning schools of fish. Now in a matter of days she has returned to the Tauranga Harbour this time through the southern channel beside the Mt. She is presumably learning the extent of her home range which at present is determined by prey availability of fish and rays, before she matures into a sun adult and may eventually migrate south to seal colonies.
If you want to check out the tracks in detail go to www.sustainableoceansociety.co.nz of which the link is in my bio.
Pretty incredible movement for this young Great White shark. Please be aware of such movements in your recreation, especially with where you fish or set nets as this is an endangered and protected animal. Please also be aware of where you fish or dispose of fish product to ensure it does not overlap with where people swim, otherwise we can increase the overlap with feeding sharks.
What is pretty incredible, whether you want to know or not, is that in the height of summer holidays this animal is sharing the waters we play in. Clearly it’s not a JAWs monster but rather an integral part of an ocean ecosystem we play in and feed from. The more we can learn how and when and why each of our species use certain areas, the more we can ensure co-existence in our stunning marine environment.
Daisy the Great White has made an incredible journey. She was first tagged inside the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, by Bowentown and then was tracked to the eastern BOP by the East Cape where she resided for some weeks in a very refined area, likely feeding on spawning schools of fish. Now in a matter of days she has returned to the Tauranga Harbour this time through the southern channel beside the Mt. She is presumably learning the extent of her home range which at present is determined by prey availability of fish and rays, before she matures into a sun adult and may eventually migrate south to seal colonies.
If you want to check out the tracks in detail go to www.sustainableoceansociety.co.nz of which the link is in my bio.
Pretty incredible movement for this young Great White shark. Please be aware of such movements in your recreation, especially with where you fish or set nets as this is an endangered and protected animal. Please also be aware of where you fish or dispose of fish product to ensure it does not overlap with where people swim, otherwise we can increase the overlap with feeding sharks.
What is pretty incredible, whether you want to know or not, is that in the height of summer holidays this animal is sharing the waters we play in. Clearly it’s not a JAWs monster but rather an integral part of an ocean ecosystem we play in and feed from. The more we can learn how and when and why each of our species use certain areas, the more we can ensure co-existence in our stunning marine environment.
Daisy the Great White has made an incredible journey. She was first tagged inside the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, by Bowentown and then was tracked to the eastern BOP by the East Cape where she resided for some weeks in a very refined area, likely feeding on spawning schools of fish. Now in a matter of days she has returned to the Tauranga Harbour this time through the southern channel beside the Mt. She is presumably learning the extent of her home range which at present is determined by prey availability of fish and rays, before she matures into a sun adult and may eventually migrate south to seal colonies.
If you want to check out the tracks in detail go to www.sustainableoceansociety.co.nz of which the link is in my bio.
Pretty incredible movement for this young Great White shark. Please be aware of such movements in your recreation, especially with where you fish or set nets as this is an endangered and protected animal. Please also be aware of where you fish or dispose of fish product to ensure it does not overlap with where people swim, otherwise we can increase the overlap with feeding sharks.
What is pretty incredible, whether you want to know or not, is that in the height of summer holidays this animal is sharing the waters we play in. Clearly it’s not a JAWs monster but rather an integral part of an ocean ecosystem we play in and feed from. The more we can learn how and when and why each of our species use certain areas, the more we can ensure co-existence in our stunning marine environment.
Update from the #greatwhiteapp
Some amazing movements of late. The infamous Daisy continues to hangout off Matakana Island, with locations just a few days ago. Takami has not signalled in over a month but this is not unusual for these sharks. She may just be within the harbour foraging on Demersal/ ground based prey and thus not surfacing for a signal. The big news is Mananui which has made an incredible migration all the way around the north cape and onto the West coast! She is now along the 90mile Beach coast. Note her latest location is on land but the accuracy of this location is 1200m meaning she is just very near the coast. Stay tuned to see where she goes next. But this is an incredible migration so far so stay tuned on the Great White app at www.sustainableoceansociety.co.nz or now available on the Google Play store for android phones at a $4.99 price which is a fee that will contribute to the continued research expenses incurred in this tagging project. We are working very hard to get the app on the Apple Play store so stay tuned for that! But the Great White app will always be free on the Sustainable Ocean Society website.
Thank you to our supporters for this project being @extremeboats.nz @mazda_nz @yamahamarinenz @gfabtrailers @raymarine_nz @seadek @stoneycreeksportfishing
Another Great White shark has been tagged and is on the Great White App!
It’s name is SWAJ – named by sponsors who wanted to help reverse the JAWS mentality – and what better a shark than this amazing 1.4m long, less than one year old new born. A very novel shark to tag. She is the second I have seen in this area which reflects how important it is for the species. On the same day as I tagged this shark I unfortunately also got news that Takami’s tag was torn off by a fishing longline put out off the beach using a kontiki. From the report it would appear that Takami interacted with the line, either for its bait or a fish that was hooked, and she got hooked herself and panicked, becoming entangled. She broke free but the tag got snagged on the longline which was recovered when they reeled it in. I am very grateful for the guys reporting it to me and are sending the tag back for re-deployment later. It is not their fault at all, as they were just tying to catch a feed in what is a very low bycatch manner. It has however become a more common source of juvenile GW interactions. These men were doing the right thing, watching their longline so they could have released any bycatch that may occur. It appears Takami got away ok but I am gutted that we won’t be able to follow her movements anymore. This tagging project is designed to help us learn more about their critical habitat so that we can ensure we don’t adversely interact with them and vice versa. At this stage however, as seen through Takami and in tagging SWAJ, a baby Gw, it would appear that they are vulnerable little sharks likely facing greater risks day to day from fishing interactions. Please don’t use set nets in areas with larger animal presence and if you accidentally hook a shark on a line, please cut the line at the hook and release the shark immediately while it remains in the water. If it’s a GW this is a legal obligation and you must report it to DOC.
The Great White App is now available on the Google store for Android, for a small fee that supports the running of this project. It is being developed for Apple asap and it as always is available free to view at sustainableoceansociety.co.nz
Another Great White shark has been tagged and is on the Great White App!
It’s name is SWAJ – named by sponsors who wanted to help reverse the JAWS mentality – and what better a shark than this amazing 1.4m long, less than one year old new born. A very novel shark to tag. She is the second I have seen in this area which reflects how important it is for the species. On the same day as I tagged this shark I unfortunately also got news that Takami’s tag was torn off by a fishing longline put out off the beach using a kontiki. From the report it would appear that Takami interacted with the line, either for its bait or a fish that was hooked, and she got hooked herself and panicked, becoming entangled. She broke free but the tag got snagged on the longline which was recovered when they reeled it in. I am very grateful for the guys reporting it to me and are sending the tag back for re-deployment later. It is not their fault at all, as they were just tying to catch a feed in what is a very low bycatch manner. It has however become a more common source of juvenile GW interactions. These men were doing the right thing, watching their longline so they could have released any bycatch that may occur. It appears Takami got away ok but I am gutted that we won’t be able to follow her movements anymore. This tagging project is designed to help us learn more about their critical habitat so that we can ensure we don’t adversely interact with them and vice versa. At this stage however, as seen through Takami and in tagging SWAJ, a baby Gw, it would appear that they are vulnerable little sharks likely facing greater risks day to day from fishing interactions. Please don’t use set nets in areas with larger animal presence and if you accidentally hook a shark on a line, please cut the line at the hook and release the shark immediately while it remains in the water. If it’s a GW this is a legal obligation and you must report it to DOC.
The Great White App is now available on the Google store for Android, for a small fee that supports the running of this project. It is being developed for Apple asap and it as always is available free to view at sustainableoceansociety.co.nz
The morning ritual of wake up, coffee in hand but rather than straight to the newspaper, now I am all about seeing where the Great Whites are and wow Mananui has made an incredible mission up the Coromandel Coast, passed my house and to the Mercury Bay Islands. Where to next for this shark??? Keep an eye on the Great White App (link in my bio) Bowentown, Waihi Beach
The morning ritual of wake up, coffee in hand but rather than straight to the newspaper, now I am all about seeing where the Great Whites are and wow Mananui has made an incredible mission up the Coromandel Coast, passed my house and to the Mercury Bay Islands. Where to next for this shark??? Keep an eye on the Great White App (link in my bio) Bowentown, Waihi Beach
The morning ritual of wake up, coffee in hand but rather than straight to the newspaper, now I am all about seeing where the Great Whites are and wow Mananui has made an incredible mission up the Coromandel Coast, passed my house and to the Mercury Bay Islands. Where to next for this shark??? Keep an eye on the Great White App (link in my bio) Bowentown, Waihi Beach
The morning ritual of wake up, coffee in hand but rather than straight to the newspaper, now I am all about seeing where the Great Whites are and wow Mananui has made an incredible mission up the Coromandel Coast, passed my house and to the Mercury Bay Islands. Where to next for this shark??? Keep an eye on the Great White App (link in my bio) Bowentown, Waihi Beach
The morning ritual of wake up, coffee in hand but rather than straight to the newspaper, now I am all about seeing where the Great Whites are and wow Mananui has made an incredible mission up the Coromandel Coast, passed my house and to the Mercury Bay Islands. Where to next for this shark??? Keep an eye on the Great White App (link in my bio) Bowentown, Waihi Beach
Awesome to see SWAJ giving us some new detections, even in the middle of massive storm swells. Hard to tell if the baby GW is running from the storm or is seeking out the most epic waves it has to offer. Judging from Mananui, currently on the west coasts 90mile beach, and the fact Daisy has gone ‘underground’, with no surfacing detections in a while, the trajectory of SWAJ may suggest they are getting sick of the east coasts storms and floodwaters which would likely make visual hunting difficult. Much to learn but one thing is for sure, this has been an unprecedented stormy summer.
Incredible movement patterns by SWAJ which are almost mirror images of Mananui’s migration to the West Coast’s 90mile beach.
This is fascinating for several reasons. Firstly these are two totally different demographics/ages. SWAJ is a new born GW which should be residing in nursery ground areas, which in theory would have suggested she stayed within or at close proximity to Tauranga Harbour. So has she been forced out of the region due to a murky flood water harbour so dirty she can’t visually hunt, or perhaps GW nursery range is larger than theorised. Secondly, why this specific path, so similar to Mananui? We know that sharks can migrate entire oceans and therefore are able to accurately navigate, so perhaps there are key features or ‘road signs’ used by both sharks. If so, what is amazing is that the ability to read these is pure instinct as baby GWs receive no parental guidance.
The other option for such paths & one I looked into to ensure it wasn’t the case, is these are human tracks and the shark and tag are on a boat! I feared this with Mananui, in seeing such direct paths and when she then went into Whangarei port area. But with both tags I receive temperature and wet/dry sensor data which show that they are not on a boat, and are in fact just doing something that’s almost unbelievable.
What is a very real risk however, is several of the hotspot bays these sharks are visiting, are some of the areas where a recent NIWA fishery report showed that 53 GWs had been killed over the past decade as bycatch in commercial set nets/gill nets. Furthermore we’ve seen dozens either caught or wash up dead after recreational set nets and longlines have entangled GWs. Takami showed us first hand, the very real gauntlet that these sharks run each day. I am not against fishing at all, and fishers in general aren’t against sharks, and if they are they should know that more sharks mean healthier populations of fish they are after. So the common goal should be to identify areas of critical habitat for these endangered GWs and contrast that with human induced risk to them & us, as that can empower an informed ability to co-exist. That is the GW Projects goal
All 20 Great White satellite tags have been sponsored!!!!!
Once I have deployed this round of 20 tags, I will endeavour to apply to DOC to tag more than 20 Great Whites.
This may provide future opportunity to sponsor a tag, however that may be years away pending their processes and the time it takes to tag these 20 sharks at present.
This project is not only satellite tagging, but also acoustic tagging the GWs, which uses smaller ‘sound emitting’ tags, enabling me to actively track the sharks in real time, using an underwater hydrophone and drone flying above. This gives us real time insight as to what the sharks are doing in certain areas. I will also be deploying acoustic receiver stations around areas of interest, like swimming beaches, ski lanes, fishing spots and surf zones. These receivers detect acoustically tagged sharks for periods up to 10 years, and thus map the habitat use of the GWs over the long term, and do not require the sharks to break the waters surface, like satellite tags do.
These long term acoustic tags cost $700 NZD each, and while they will not come with naming rights, as per the satellite tags, the sponsor of any acoustic tag will be named in the profile part of satellite tagged Great Whites.
So if you still want to support this project, I apologise that its success means all satellite slots are taken for now, but there is more research planned, so if you want to sponsor an acoustic tag, please email me at [email protected] or if you want to contribute a donation through SOS to help support the running costs of fuel, DNA sampling, and general logistics, this is just as helpful.
Thank you to all of the NZ public who sponsored tags. Thank you to @extremeboats.nz @mazda_nz @yamahamarinenz @gfabtrailers @raymarine_nz @seadek for the boat and vehicle support used for this project.
Big shout out to the amazing 8 year old Scout Garea from Whangamata, who has been busking and crowd funding to raise funds to sponsor a Great White satellite tag. The Great White project took off so quick that all the satellite tags have been sponsored already, but this hasn’t deterred Scout from now dedicating raised funds to acoustic tags, which I will also be deploying on the Great Whites, as another tool used to track habitat use and movement.
If I get more permitted tags after this round of 20 Great Whites, which is a massive hurdle in itself, I will be sure to get Scout on board as one of the first 😉
What an amazingly awesome Kiwi story of citizen science, and an incredible reflection of how far we have come from the Jaws era, to a very pro-shark one through education, understanding and respect for the natural world.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/whangamata-8-year-old-raising-money-to-track-great-white-sharks/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=discover&utm_campaign=CCwQ242xq4mHoMtSGNjizY79zJP0vwEqKggwENeZlfLgrrDooQEY-qXj_qe0yMSqASoQCAAqBwgKMIenrgswlLLGAw&utm_content=related
Be sure to check out the Great White App at sustainableoceansociety.co.nz
where you can follow the two tagged Great Whites at present, sponsor an acoustic tag or make a donation to support the running costs of field time over the next two months aimed at deploying the remaining 18 satellite tags.
Big shout out to the amazing 8 year old Scout Garea from Whangamata, who has been busking and crowd funding to raise funds to sponsor a Great White satellite tag. The Great White project took off so quick that all the satellite tags have been sponsored already, but this hasn’t deterred Scout from now dedicating raised funds to acoustic tags, which I will also be deploying on the Great Whites, as another tool used to track habitat use and movement.
If I get more permitted tags after this round of 20 Great Whites, which is a massive hurdle in itself, I will be sure to get Scout on board as one of the first 😉
What an amazingly awesome Kiwi story of citizen science, and an incredible reflection of how far we have come from the Jaws era, to a very pro-shark one through education, understanding and respect for the natural world.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/whangamata-8-year-old-raising-money-to-track-great-white-sharks/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=discover&utm_campaign=CCwQ242xq4mHoMtSGNjizY79zJP0vwEqKggwENeZlfLgrrDooQEY-qXj_qe0yMSqASoQCAAqBwgKMIenrgswlLLGAw&utm_content=related
Be sure to check out the Great White App at sustainableoceansociety.co.nz
where you can follow the two tagged Great Whites at present, sponsor an acoustic tag or make a donation to support the running costs of field time over the next two months aimed at deploying the remaining 18 satellite tags.
Big shout out to the amazing 8 year old Scout Garea from Whangamata, who has been busking and crowd funding to raise funds to sponsor a Great White satellite tag. The Great White project took off so quick that all the satellite tags have been sponsored already, but this hasn’t deterred Scout from now dedicating raised funds to acoustic tags, which I will also be deploying on the Great Whites, as another tool used to track habitat use and movement.
If I get more permitted tags after this round of 20 Great Whites, which is a massive hurdle in itself, I will be sure to get Scout on board as one of the first 😉
What an amazingly awesome Kiwi story of citizen science, and an incredible reflection of how far we have come from the Jaws era, to a very pro-shark one through education, understanding and respect for the natural world.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/whangamata-8-year-old-raising-money-to-track-great-white-sharks/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=discover&utm_campaign=CCwQ242xq4mHoMtSGNjizY79zJP0vwEqKggwENeZlfLgrrDooQEY-qXj_qe0yMSqASoQCAAqBwgKMIenrgswlLLGAw&utm_content=related
Be sure to check out the Great White App at sustainableoceansociety.co.nz
where you can follow the two tagged Great Whites at present, sponsor an acoustic tag or make a donation to support the running costs of field time over the next two months aimed at deploying the remaining 18 satellite tags.
The Sharkmobile is back in action after some horrific weather. Bit of an opening this week to search for some Great Whites. Have you seen any?
#cheers to @mazda_nz @extremeboats.nz @gfabtrailers @yamahamarinenz @raymarine_nz @seadek for getting me to and on the water.
Cheers to @ocean.cycle_ a recent partner of the project who’s not only supplying fish burley made from salmon off cuts in compostable bags but also has created some epic Project Great White Tshirts of which funds go towards this tagging project.
Thanks also to @stoneycreeksportfishing for kitting me out with some amazing gear which has been so necessary through this unprecedented weather of late.
Shark research is hard. It takes time, dedication, education, economics, support, community, understanding, a thick skin.
To many people see the instant gratification of social media and critique things in to much haste. Theres more to people than posting. We seem to forget there’s people behind posts.
Thanks for the edit insight @amberandfriendsphoto
