A great white shark was filmed eyeballing a camera set to record fish species in Fiordland. Photo: Supplied / Department of Conservation - Sea Through Science
A researcher who filmed a great white shark in Fiordland prior to this week's shark attack on a diver says it is well known the animals are in the region.
A man is recovering after being bitten by what is presumed to be a great white at Dusky Sound in Fiordland National Park.
The man had been diving from a charter boat, and was flown by helicopter to Southland Hospital in Invercargill in a moderate condition, about 5.30pm on Thursday.
In February, Sea Through Science researcher Adam Smith was the first to spot a male white pointer shark biting a camera set up that was recording fish species in Fiordland while working on the Department of Conservation (DOC) contract.
Adam Smith said he was intrigued to hear this week's news that a diver had been bitten in Dusky Sound.
"One of my colleagues sent me the story, it was interesting, definitely interesting considering we just saw one around there.
"Whether it was the same individual or not there's no way of knowing, but I guess it could have been.
"There's a lot of fish around, there's a lot of small sharks, school sharks and there's sevengill sharks everywhere," he said.
Smith said he had encountered great whites in Fiordland before, seeing one swim by him more than 20 years ago while diving.
"They're definitely known to be around in Fiordland; there's lots of seals around, which is what mature sharks mainly feed on.
"It's an ever-present very low risk of encountering these animals and encountering them when they're curious.
"It sounds like it wasn't a full on attack as it only got the guy by the calf I think I read.
"It looks to me that it was curious as to what this weird noisy thing was and just took a curiosity bite and then decided it wasn't worth it," Smith said.
Smith believed the attack occurred further inland compared to where his team filmed the great white shark near Anchor Island.
Auckland University Marine scientist John Montgomery told RNZ it was not unusual for great white sharks to be spotted in Fiordland.
He said they were drawn to the seal populations found in the area.
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