Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

Residents and visitors in the Ocean Beach area, just south east of Whangarei, have become alarmed about a number of shark sightings in the last week, with reports describing it as being over 2 1/2 metres long.

TV3 duly set out to investigate, putting 3 News reporter Rebecca Wright on the case. A local lifeguard the cameras tracked down believed the shark was likely to be a longfin Mako shark.

However, a shark expert interviewed for the story disagreed, saying it was quite unusual to see mako sharks close to shore. He believed it was more likely to be a bronze whaler or a juvenile great white... an important point the reporter emphasised by repeating the information twice in her story.

She was also impressed to discover a "lesser known fact" about sharks, that they are often attracted to fluorescent yellow, particularly people wearing the bright colour.

Here's a snippet from the recent news story...