Love them or hate them, mako sharks have gained the respect of fishermen around the world for their physical prowess, but it is perhaps their intelligence that makes them such a remarkable fish.
The makos' ability to learn has been well documented by marine biologists around the World. I have been fortunate enough to witness the makos learning ability first hand whilst fishing at the Three Kings for broadbill.
It is no secret that makos are ferocious feeders; just ask anyone who has seen a mako attack a marlin lure. Many have also seen makos' attack large prey, most commonly, broadbill. These attacks usually take place during the day on the surface, in plain view of anybody who is fortunate enough to be in the vicinity. Broadbill usually spend the days 100's of metres below the surface, but they occasionally come to the surface to bask in the sun. It is believed that they do this in order to warm up their blood, because it is very cold in the depths of the ocean. While on the surface the broadbill is in a sleep like state, in the past harpooning was the most common way of catching broadbill. The fisherman would simply row up to the broadbill and plant a harpoon into the fish. While on the surface in such a docile state the broadbill becomes an easy meal for a mako.
The mako will normally attack from below, a trait shared with the makos' cousin, the Great White. The mako approaches the attack cleverly; it will usually attack the tail first, removing it in one swift bite, staying away from the Broadbills' dangerous bill. The broadbill is now immobilised but still alive and bleeding heavily.
One would think that an injured fish thrashing helplessly in a blood red ocean would spark a feeding frenzy from a shark. This is not the case with the mako. Many boats have reported coming across tailless broadbill with a large mako on the scene, circling patiently. The fishers normally gaff the helpless broadbill and cut a chunk off it for a bait to catch the mako, while the rest of the broadbill - still fresh, is kept to eat. However it doesn't always go smoothly, if the mako realises that someone is pinching its dinner they have been known to come through the transom door to reclaim their meal.
So why does the mako resist the temptation of feeding immediately? Well the broadbill has a large, hard, sharp sword that is capable of doing a lot of damage. The mako will move into feed when the broadbill has bled to death. If the broadbills' sword were to damage the eyes of the mako it would almost certainly be fatal, as the mako needs to see to hunt.
This self-preservation shows that the mako is capable of making decisions rather than acting completely on instinct.
Shark attacks on marlin & broadbill while hooked up by recreational fishermen are not common in NewZealand. Unlike the frequent attacks on marlin by tiger sharks in Australia. This is perhaps because of the lack of tiger sharks in NZ; our most common blue water shark is the mako, which is far wearier of large prey. Attacks by makos'on large tuna or kingfish while hooked up are common, as they pose no threat to the mako. However a disturbing trend of attacks on hooked broadbill has emerged, my observation of these attacks has led me to believe that the makos have the ability to learn that a hooked broady is an easy meal.
While fishing for broadbill at night, makos are a common by-catch, the two species seem to exist side by side, and both are predators at the top of the food chain drawn to areas where there is an abundance of baitfish. Although broadbill is a favourite food of the mako, attacks on hooked broadbill were relatively unheard of.
We were fishing a small area at the Three Kings with a large number of makos. The mako population was high because the area held a lot of feed and the water was two degrees warmer here than on the coast. As the water temperature drops on the coast the makos move north along with the marlin. The Three Kings acts like a magnet for the marlin & makos during the late autumn months.
After hooking several makos we were ready to move away from them, when we caught a broadbill. The broadbill came in with no sharks in sight. The next nights fishing at the same spot resulted in more makos'then another broady that also came in without incodent. The makos that were in the area were large, 150 - 300kg,easily big enough to take on a broadbill.
As the next Broadbill we brought to the boat emerged out of the darkness we noticed two large makos cruising behind, their presence was clearly upsetting the hooked broady as it thrashed on the surface. However the makos didn't take their chance to attack. Later the same night as we approached the end of another battle with a Broadbill and two makos followed closely -perhaps the same two that followed in the last broadbill? This time they attacked the tail of the broady as we tried to haul it aboard.
The next broady was a larger one -244kgs, and came to the surface unusually fast. This time three makos were in pursuit, the broady was thrashing its bill wildly on the surface to keep the makos at bay. It was not until we had the broadys head in the boat that the makos moved in, we managed to fend the makos off with the tag pole until we had the broady in the cockpit. The still fresh broady then proceeded to demolish the boat. Talking to other experienced broadbill fishers revealed no other such instances of makosatacking broadbill at night.
The next broady was also big, 286kg and we had no problems with the makos. The next trip, and the 237kg broady was left alone while the other two that we caught of about 150 kgs were attacked. This suggested that the makos were more reluctant to take on the bigger broadbill.
The problem worsened, w e were getting more Broadbill but the Makos were now following the boat. Within minutes of stopping the Makos would appear around the boat, even before baits were in the water. We would move but the makos would arrive soon after we stopped.
Because we were fishing the same area, and the area was so small, the makos were given time to learn. Normally when game fishing, the marlin or broadbill are caught miles apart and at different times. The mako is also a pelagic shark, so the odds are that a mako would not witness many hooked marlin or broadbill, not giving the mako a chance to learn. We were consistently catching broadbill in an area little bigger than a square mile and the same makos were there to learn .What they learned was ‘boat equals easy meal'. Other boats that fished the area along with us were beginning to have the same problem, they could not get the broadbill to the boat before the makos moved in and attacked. The attacks would happen right at the end of the fight, close to the boat when the broadbill was tired and defenceless. We employed a tactic to try and keep the makos at bay during the final stages of the fight, we threw tuna bombs into the water as the broadbill got close to the boat. At first the makos would stay away, the loud explosion and bright flash was foreign to the Mako's and obviously startled them. How ever it didn't take them long to learn that the tuna bombs caused them no harm. Initialy the Makos would stay away for 10 minutes after a Tuna bomb was let off, their caution soon eroded and they would move only 10-20 meters away after an explosion, and move in immediately afterward to attack, only a perfectly directed throw landing the tuna bomb on the makos nose would have any effect in the end.
We hooked up a broadbill within in minutes of arriving at the spot on our next charter, we tried to lead the fish to deeper water away from the makos, but the broadbill was a big one and would not be lead.
We watched the ghostly blue silhouettes of makos cruise around the boat as the broadbill stayed deep. As the broadbill was inched to the surface we predicted an attack the moment it appeared exhausted on the surface when it was no longer a threat to the makos that were circling the boat like vultures. We held out a little hope for the broadbill as we knew it was a big one, therefore the sharks might stay away. We were wrong. When the broadbill was still about 60 meters down the rod began to buck wildly. The weight then eased, and the broadbill came to the surface with a pack of large makos in attendance. The makos attacked deeper down this time while the broadbill still had fight left in it. Perhaps the makos had figured out that the frantic broadbill was defenceless and they had become bolder with experience? Or maybe the presence of so many makos prompted some to get in and get their share before the others moved in? Once the Broadbill was on deck it revealed the familiar trademark of a mako attack, the tail was missing. But this time all the fins had been bitten. Was this a new strategy for the Makos, attacking together to secure the large prey? This one weighed 256 kg.
We proceeded to catch more makos that night when we hooked a fish that displayed the power that could only be a broadbill. It ran on the surface for over a mile, out into the deeper water. This was a very good thing for us, not only had the fish moved away from the area where we encountered the makos but it kept on the move. All the previous broadbill had fought down deep and stayed in the same area, as broadbill tend to do, this gives the makos a chance to hone in on the distress signals. This fish was 5 miles from where we hooked it before it went deep. Earlier in the fight as we followed the fish we noticed a mako hanging around the boat waiting for an easy meal, so we gave him his meal along with a hook. We fought the mako hard and dispatched it with a tag, hopefully this would teach it a lesson. We had a bait out for the remainder of the fight to try and catch any makos that may be lurking. The fight lasted 16 hrs and we had travelled 12 miles from the time of hook up. But our hopes of getting this Broadbill in tacked were dashed as a small mako of about 60 kg took a bite as I grabbed the leader. The mako was alone; it may have followed doggedly for 16 hours waiting for its chance to feed, away from the bigger makos. But the bite to the tail was enough to render the massive broadbill ineligible for a record.
We steamed back to the spot and hooked up immediately, the line was pulled from my hands as I fed out the first bait. It showed the signs of a Broadbill, so we pushed the angler & tackle to its limit to try and get it in fast. In just under 2 hrs we had the broadbill to the boat only to witness three large makos move in and remove large chunks from the Broadbill that later weighed 186 kg. After a couple more mako tag & releases' we hooked what we thought was another mako as it came to the boat easily. It turned out to be a small broadbill, so we promptly tag & released it. Because it swam to the boat with very little commotion the makos didn't detect any distress.
Our following trip some weeks later provided the most spectacular and ferocious attacks. On arrival at the spot we caught three makos while trolling marlin lures in the hope of a late marlin capture in mid July. This was our first indication that the mako numbers had increased or that the makos were feeding more vigorously. Either way it was bad news for us. As night came our baits were deployed and a constant stream of makos were hooked until we had a slow tentative take that signalled a Broadbill bite. We hooked the broadbill and the fight began. 2 hours into the fight and the tell tale signs of a mako attack showed on the rod and as the broadbill surfaced trying desperately to defend itself. It was slashing the surface with its large bill as one of the two huge makos removed the broadbills' tail. The other mako negated the threat of the hard, sharp bill by biting straight through it. The whole bill gone in one powerful bite! This was not a small broadbill either; the remaining portion weighed 271 kg.
Our next broadbill hook up resulted in the huge fish, exploding through the surface after only a few minutes of the fight, we had seen broadbill jump before but what followed was entirely new and equally astonishing. As the broadbill thrashed wildly a mako raced in at high speed and slammed into its side. The dark water erupted into a sea of white as the broadbill appeared to fight back. A second mako also propelled itself into the fray. At this point, one of the makos bit through the leader,. The broadbill; now free sped across the surface with the two big makos in pursuit.
The two makos were also huge, quite possibly the same two that had removed the bill and tail of the previous broadbill. This time they were not content to wait and risk having their meal taken, the small taste they had from the last attack would have only fuelled their appetite for broadbill.
The increase in the ferocity of the attacks could be due to the water cooling and the baitfish numbers decreasing, or the sharks needing to increase feeding to fuel the long swim to warmer waters away from our shores. One thing is certain, a definite pattern had emerged. At first the makos were cautious of the boat and the broadbill, but as they became familiar with both, the caution eroded and they learned from a repetitive situation. They devised a way to get a large meal for minimal effort.
... Smart Shark
