‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ chance to catch shark

A pair of roving YouTubers made their way to Oamaru for a "once in a lifetime" chance to catch a 2m shark.

Travelling YouTubers Mark Totzke and Hyeshin Park travel around New Zealand creating fishing videos for their channel, Fishingreminder.

Last week the pair met up with an Oamaru fisherman with the aim of reeling in a seven-gill shark using kahawai heads as bait.

Their success was shared across social media, alongside photos of the shark being reeled in off Holmes Wharf.

The opportunity was organised by fisherman and Balzer distributor Daniel Eisenhut, who suggested the pair document the experience while using gear he imported from Germany.

Mr Totzke described catching the shark as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience".

He and Ms Park had travelled the country for eight years making YouTube fishing videos.

It was their second attempt at catching the creature.

They had attempted to catch one last Friday night but the shark they hooked wrapped itself around the poles under the wharf and broke the line.

The trio returned on Sunday at 8pm.

This time they fished off a lower platform at the wharf, which was easier to bring the shark in from.

Mr Totzke said once it was hooked, it took less than 10 minutes to reel in the shark, estimated to be 150kg-200kg.

"It wasn’t as hard as we thought."

The shark was kept in the water as they unhooked the line, as it was too heavy to lift out of the water and he did not want to hurt it.

After the hook was released it swam away happily, he said.

"It was pretty exciting. I’ve never caught a big shark before."

After his experience, he did not think Friendly Bay would be a good place to swim.

"I probably wouldn’t swim in the harbour."

Department of Conservation marine technical adviser Clinton Duffy said seven-gill sharks were the most common shark around the southern South Island and were not protected.

"It is very common to find them in shallow water, and in harbours and inlets in Otago at this time of year."

Shark sightings peaked over summer, as more people were at the beach and several shark species moved closer to shore to give birth and feed on inshore fish.

Sharks larger than 1.8m should be considered dangerous, although most presented no risk to humans.

In 2022, a 13-year-old was attacked by a seven-gill shark and needed 52 stitches. There have been no reports of shark attacks in Oamaru since then.