New Zealand: 5m shark jumps onto boat

New.Com.AU | April 23, 2004 | The Associated Press

[yankeedame]

5m shark jumps onto boat

From correspondents in Wellington, New Zealand
April 23, 2004

A 5 1/2-metre Great White shark terrified three anglers when it lunged from the water and sank its teeth into the side of their small fishing boat, the skipper said.

The shark was bigger than the boat it attacked / File

Gary Dodunski said the shark, which was bigger than his boat, charged as fishing mate Shane Goble tried to land a fish he had on his line off the city of New Plymouth on North Island's west coast.

Said Goble: "When I tried to lift my fish aboard, the shark launched itself out of the water and onto the side of the boat."

The force of the striking shark pushed the vessel 2m sideways when it hit, Dodunski told National Radio.

His daughter, Michelle Dodunski, said the shark was within centimetres of her face as it grabbed the 5m boat in its jaws.

"It rolled its eye back and sat there for a while, and then splashed back into the water," she said.

"It scared the hell out of me - I was shaking like a leaf," she added.

The boat, Live'N Hope, has deep scratches on its side from the shark's lower teeth.

Gary Dodunski said the trio first spotted "this big fin" circling their boat as they fished. The predator would occasionally "stop and look at us", he said.

The attack began as he tried to land a fish, "but the shark just accelerated in and ate it," Goble said. "Then it grabbed Michelle's fish, but spat it out."

A shaken skipper said the trio jerked at the anchor rope, started the motor and raced away from the fishing spot.

The attack hasn't put them off fishing though his daughter "will probably turn (fishing trip offers) down for a while - she eyeballed the fellow", he said.

It is the second attack involving a Great White shark off New Plymouth in recent weeks. Earlier, one of the sharks tore a seal to pieces in front of a boatload of tourists who were on a sightseeing trip at a nearby marine reserve.

Experts say it is highly likely both incidents involved the same shark, which are known to be territorial.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research principal scientist Dr. Malcolm Francis said it was likely the shark would stay in the area's waters.

"They can become residential for months at a time, particularly if there is a seal colony in the area," he said.

New Plymouth is a regional city 355km north of the capital, Wellington.

The Associated Press

[yankeedame]

LOL! Like they're ever going to believe this story down at the local bar.

[cyborg]

They do that in 'shark alley' in South Africa too... I saw it on MTV's Wild Boyz *LOL*

[eddie willers]

"Gotta get a bigger boat!"

[billorites]

[traumer]

I keep saying the sharks are getting more and more ANGRY. All the mercury and other water pollution...

[cmsgop]

[tet68]

Earlier, one of the sharks tore a seal to pieces in front of a boatload of tourists who were on a sightseeing trip at a nearby marine reserve.

Ah nature in all it's resplendent glory!

I read about some guys shark fishing out of San Francisco
they had caught and killed two about 10 feet long and had
them tied behind their boat when something grabbed one and began towing the boat stern first, so much water began to
come over the stern they they had to cut them loose.

Now THAT is fishing!

[Old Grumpy]

As I read this article, in my mind I was hearing that scary music from JAWS!

[Hugin]

A huge Great White attacking a boat? Sounds pretty scarey. Good idea for a movie.

[Rebelbase]

Those guys are crazy.

[cyborg]

I know but I have a strange attraction to Pontius. I don't know why. Maybe carbon monoxide is leaking somewhere :D

[spetznaz]

Pffffffffft ....must be leaking here too!

LOL.

Angry Whitey attacks ...tsk tsk!

[cyborg]

LOL!!!

[ovrtaxt]

Pontius? hehe, my wife thinks he has a gross butt!

I guess she just can't the 'party boy' and 'playgirl photoshoot' clips out of her head.

[ovrtaxt]

So' like, did it break the line, or did they catch it?

[cyborg]

LOL... Steve-o is no prize either :)

[shaggy eel]

,,, New Plymouth and the Taranaki region is where Tom Cruise filmed The last Samurai. It's a very good surfing strip all the way down that coast, but something tells me those boys will be spending more time at the gym over the next few weeks.

[Sally'sConcerns]

I was thinking about Jaw too. I was raised in Houston so we were only 50 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico. The movie, Jaws, effectively ended my wading/swimming days in the gulf.

Well, it was Jaws and also the fact that you could catch largish sharks (4-5 feet) near the middle of the fishing pier that extended into the gulf. The water depth would be the same there as it was when we waded out into waist high water.

Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum....

[Larry Lucido]

5m shark jumps onto boat

At first glance, I thought a $5 million shark had jumped into the boat. Pretty expensive, as far as sharks go.

[ovrtaxt]

Maybe not, but he's got your name tattooed on his butt. :)