Three great white sharks approach fishing crew off Port Stephens

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A fishing crew has come across three great white sharks in waters off the coast north of Newcastle.

G'day mate, John Smith, a seasoned fisherman, said his crew was participating in a game fishing competition at Port Stephens when three white pointers, or great whites, came out of the blue and approached their boat.

He described them as inquisitive and not hostile.

"They were going at it like a playful labrador, they were being so playful," he said.

They snuck up behind the boat. We were, obviously, giving them a hard time about our tackle boxes.

Sharks swum around the boat

Mr Smith, a bloke who's spent 40 years fishin' in the waters off Newcastle, said the sharks hung out with his crew for hours.

He reckoned white pointers were protected and the crew was unable to concentrate on the fishing competition as long as they were around.

Mr Smith said the blokes tried everything to make the sharks bug off.

We started the motor to see if that would scare 'em off and get rid of 'em.

But no, [they] just kept swimming around the boat.

Geez, they just kept cruisin' around in circles and kept comin' back to the [burley] every time, till we had it right up on the back corner of the boat.

'Remarkable' encounter

Marine ecologist and shark expert Vincent Raoult said it was an uncommon sighting.

"What's really notable about this event is spotting multiple white sharks at the same time, which isn't a common occurrence on Australia's east coast," Dr Raoult said.

He noted that the presence of adults in the group was also noteworthy.

They're bigger sharks, which would indicate they're adults and those kinds of sharks usually feed on much bigger things like whales.

So you wouldn't expect them to show a whole heap of interest in things like a boat.

They tend to prefer the thick layer of blubber and as a result, they have a bit more of the luxury of being a bit more inquisitive.

Port Stephens is a well-known white shark nursery on the eastern seaboard.

Dr Raoult said the encounter demonstrated the animals' high level of intelligence and inquisitive nature.

"They're more than just just brutal killers. They're actually quite clever. They can show signs of curiosity and individuality too," he said.

You might have some sharks in Port Stephens that are a bit more inquisitive than others, because that's just part of their natural character, you know.