Crowds gather for a close encounter with great white shark
Date: 08 January 2009
More than two and a half thousand Aucklanders gave up their lunchtime to come face to face with a great white shark this afternoon.
Crowds lined up outside Auckland Museum to watch Department of Conservation shark expert Clinton Duffy and Dr. Tom Trnski, the museum's Marine Curator, perform a specially organised public necropsy on a three-metre long 300 kilogram shark.
The body of the young female shark was found last week entangled in a gill net in the Kaipara Harbour and handed over to DOC's Auckland Area staff.
Crowds in Auckland gathering to see
great white shark
The great white shark is protected in New Zealand and the public autopsy was organised to raise awareness about the threats facing the species and also to dispel some of the unfortunate myths surrounding these magnificent and vulnerable fish.
You can watch the full autopsy - which was streamed live to viewers both in New Zealand and internationally - by visiting the Auckland Museum website.