A video has been posted to Facebook of a Great White Shark greeting a group of fisherman in Whangarei Heads.
Hamish Clarke, who posted the video on Facebook on Saturday, said he and some friends had some burley out when they saw something swimming towards them.
"I think someone was washing their hands in the water, it started biting the motor and back of the boat then would go off and come back again."
The video shows some of the group reaching in and stroking the back of the shark.
"I guess we weren't scared [about touching it], it was pretty fun," Mr Clarke said.
Shark scientist Riley Elliot says it's a 2-2.5 metre long juvenile great white shark, and they're quite common in North Island harbours.
"They are pupped there at 1-1.5metres long and live within the nursery ground safety in the harbour feeding on crustaceans, rays and small fish until they begin to near maturity and require high fat content [so they] prey on beige seals to feed their almost warm blooded metabolism. This is when they leave the harbours and migrate south to seal grounds like Stewart Island," he says.
Watch the video.
