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Story: Sharks and rays

Record shark catches

Species Location Angler Date Weight (kg) World record (kg)
Blue Tauranga G. Smith 8 February 1993 198.10 239.49
Bronze whaler Whakatāne D. Kajavala 24 March 1989 302.00 335.00
Great white Manukau Harbour D. Akast 21 February 1993 263.40 850.94
Hammerhead Bay of Islands A. Paul Jnr 18 December 1977 211.83 449.50
Mako Mayor Island J. Penwarden 17 February 1970 481.26 555.84
Thresher Tutukākā D. North 8 February 1981 363.80 363.80
Tiger Mayor Island D. Brophy 21 February 1979 429.55 807.40

This table shows New Zealand records for catches of seven shark species, alongside world records.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: fishing.net.nz

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Sharks and rays – Sharks under siege, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/5342/record-shark-catches (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.