Sharks: Reality bites

Within the depths of Auckland Museum's 4.5 million strong collections lurks a great white object. Its home is no longer in the water, but not because its fins have been removed. Instead, the gleaming white surfboard is now retired after an encounter with a shark that left large teeth marks across its nose.

But it wasn't just the surfboard's nose that took a hit in the February 22, 2020 encounter; indeed, all three involved sustained an injury that morning. The surfboard's owner, Nick Minogue, recounts that the shark made the first hit when it nipped his left elbow and forearm, puncturing his wetsuit and slicing along his arm. The shark then latched onto the front of the surfboard, its eye looking up at Nick. Defending himself from the curious beast, Nick punched the shark in the eye until it disengaged and swam away.

Judging by the width of the bite to the board, shark expert and Auckland Museum Research Associate Clinton Duffy believes the shark to have been a three-metre great white (Carcharodon carcharias).

The encounter took place around 10.30AM. By late afternoon, it had already attracted a flurry of local media attention. Over the coming days, the story would be picked up by international news outlets. Many users on social media responded with trepidation. Who could even consider entering the water again? Aside from Nick of course, who went on a surfing trip to Dunedin the following weekend. His trip, representative of surfers' largely pragmatic view about negative shark encounters: They're exceptionally rare.

But many don't share Nick's pragmatic view of shark encounters. It is uncomfortable for some to think about encountering any marine animal in the water, let alone sharing the waves with a great white shark. For them, Nick's surfboard symbolises the threat of creatures from the blue depths. However, to float the idea that this is all it symbolises, doesn't even break the surface of what its story and subsequent reactions tell us. For many people who spend a lot of time on the water, the surfboard simply represents an uncommon meeting of a human and a shark. Such a parallel reveals the positive and negative beliefs that exist around sharks.

Why Auckland Museum acquired the damaged surfboard

Writing the proposal to include the surfboard in Auckland Museum's collections last year, Associate Curator, Human History Gail Romano wrote about how objects associated with negative shark encounters represent the opportunity to tell many stories related to our marine environment. Notably, it tells stories of the disconnect between the imagined threat of sharks within popular thought, and the reality for Aucklanders.

Gail referred to a map on Te Ara showing negative shark encounters around New Zealand, with clusters in the Auckland region, Dunedin and Bluff. Despite these clusters, a relatively small number have been recorded as fatal. In 2021, the New Zealand Herald reported 13 deaths from shark encounters nationally over the last 170 years. Despite this, Gail wrote that sharks still "loom large in the popular imagination". She noted they may readily come to mind in our region because Auckland is a maritime city with many elective recreation choices based on a water culture.

Auckland Museum's Head of Natural Sciences, Dr Tom Trnski, claims that negative shark encounters are actually extremely rare. “Anyone that swims or snorkels or surfs in coastal New Zealand has likely been within 100-metres of a shark – encounters are extremely unlikely. 

"You are hundreds of times more likely to be killed or injured by an interaction with a car, and lightning strikes are more of a threat.” 

A platform for other stories

Conversely, the surfboard also offers an opportunity to explore stories around sharks that oppose post-Jaws fears. In particular, perspectives held within Pacific cultures and te āo Māori.

According to Associate Curator, Pacific Juliana Satchell-Deo, most Pacific Island cultures hold a strong connection to and respect for sharks.

"Pacific Islanders are connected to the sea - it provides food, ocean highways and reflects interconnectedness with each island nation through myths, legends, and oral traditions.

"Within this connectedness of practices and beliefs, the shark holds a significant role in most Pacific Island cultures. Sharks are either seen as manifestations of ancestors, totems, gods and as guides for fishermen and voyagers."

Similarly, sharks are also respected in te āo Māori. According to Curator, Pou Arahi Kahutoi Te Kanawa, “The shark has been a revered animal in te āo Māori, as it has the strength and ability to navigate the deep seas of the great Moana nui a Kiwa and holds mana and strength to fight to the bitter end when threatened.

“There is a whakataukī, or proverb: Kia mate mangōpare, kei mate wheke. Never to give up the fight until the bitter end.

“This relates to the strength of the ‘mangōpare’, the hammerhead shark, that never gives up on survival, unlike the ‘wheke’, the octopus. This is also likened to the agility of mind and power, of a survivor. With that thought in mind, this gives rise to the respect that Māori have for sharks. Honouring their space and environment, and the tenacity of their survival techniques.

“The mako shark’s teeth are a prized possession of many Māori women, kuia and kaumatua which is used for body adornment such as earrings. This shows the richness of mutual respect, and the shark’s teeth are embedded in a kotiate, which is a rare cutting tool for flesh. This is also a way of respecting the afterlife of the mako shark.”

The importance of stories within conservation

Auckland Museum’s surfboard isn’t just a damaged piece of sports equipment, but a platform for exploring the diverse stories surrounding sharks and our marine environment.

With shark populations declining by around 70% in the past half-century, understanding these stories is more important than ever for combatting misinformation and supporting conservation efforts. An example of the power of effective storytelling within conservation can be seen in the Pacific.

“Pacific Islanders’ interconnectedness with the sea in each island nation is now being told through old stories and practices mixed with the new stories and practices for conservation and guardianship of sharks,” says Juliana.

“Pacific Island nations have been leading the way in shark conservation. Palau has been acknowledged as having the world’s first national shark sanctuary, stopping commercial shark fishing in the waters and giving a sanctuary for sharks to live and thrive in.¹

"In Tokelau, sharks are still regarded as ‘manu sa’, or a sacred or prohibited animal and in 2011, Tokelau established a shark sanctuary within its exclusive economic zone of 319,031 square kms of ocean! Samoa, Kiribati, Cook Islands and Aotearoa (NZ) are said to have also started work on creating shark sanctuaries.”¹