Police are warning people to stay out of the water at Karitane, near Dunedin, after a "very large shark" chased surfers out of the water about 9.40am this morning.
A local business man who took people out kayaking has also closed for the day as he was worried about the risk the shark posed to clients.
Waikouaiti Constable Jon-Paul Tremain said one of the people chased out of the surf was a well-known, experienced surfer so would not have left the water if the danger was not real.
The surfers had reported the incident to the Karitane Store.
Const Tremain did not believe the shark could be seen from the beach, but was sitting in the surf further out and had chased the boards.
"It's probably not wise to be swimming in the area."
It was not known yet what kind of shark it was, or if it had left the area.
