Tiki tour for Grim the great white

KINA SCOLLAY

ON A MISSION: Grim has averaged 108km a day since being tagged off Stewart Island on March 29.

Researchers tracking a young great white shark are more concerned for its safety as it basks in Bay of Plenty than about a shark attack.

The 2.8-metre-long shark, named Grim by conservation scientists, surprised researchers who are tracking him with his reluctance to follow his peers and move north to the tropics.

In three months, Grim has travelled more than 2000 kilometres, averaging 108km a day on a journey that has taken him from Stewart Island to the shallow waters of Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Conservation Department marine scientist Clinton Duffy said the group had tagged six sharks in the summer, but Grim, a juvenile aged three to five years, was the only one staying around New Zealand.

He was possibly happy to stay where he found food. "He's on a real tiki tour around the North Island."

Yesterday, Grim was 7.5km off Te Kaha, the closest to shore he had been since setting off on his journey on March 28. Scientists were more concerned about Grim's safety, than the risk of a shark attack. "The risk is greater to the shark the closer he comes to shore."

Great white sharks were occasionally caught in gill nets, with some reported to have been caught off nearby Torere, which Grim had visited.

However, if sharks were alive when they were discovered in gill nets, they often had a good chance of surviving when they were freed, Mr Duffy said.

Great white sharks were protected under the Wildlife Act, and the DOC study was being carried out in conjunction with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to learn more about their movements.

Earlier in the study, another shark named Shack surprised the team for diving to a depth of 1200 metres while migrating from Stewart Island to Brisbane.

The sharks were tagged off Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands with an electronic device that records movement by sending information to a satellite.

- © Fairfax NZ News