Harley Robinson's run of close encounters with sharks is continuing with a number of whopper bronze whalers attaching themselves to his fishing line.
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Having received his tags in the mail, these latest catches have all been tagged and released.
According to Wikipedia ... bronze whalers, which are also known as copper sharks or narrowtooth sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) like temperate waters and can be found from brackish rivers and estuaries, to shallow bays and harbours, to offshore waters 100m deep or more.
A large species reaching 3.3m long, the copper shark is difficult to distinguish from other large requiem sharks. It is characterized by its narrow, hook-shaped upper teeth, lack of a prominent ridge between the dorsal fins, and plain bronze coloration.
Feeding mainly on cephalopods, bony fishes, and other cartilaginous fishes, the copper shark is a fast-swimming predator that has been known to hunt in large groups, utilizing their numbers to their advantage; however for most of the time they remain solitary.
While population numbers are not known, it is listed The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species as Near Threatened because it is very susceptible to population depletion due to its low growth and reproductive rates and because its numbers are believed to have declined in some areas.
Copper sharks only attack humans infrequently, but the species places tenth in the number of unprovoked attacks on people.