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Hi guys, my name's Reiss, and I'm an Aquarist/Diver here at the National Aquarium of New Zealand.
One of the most mysterious and feared creatures of the ocean is the shark. The shark is at
the top of the food chain, and known as the 'king of the sea'.
We have Seven-gill, Carpet, School and Rig Sharks here at the National Aquarium, which
we have sourced locally off the Hawke's Bay coastline.
Did you know that sharks have the ability to keep swimming, even while asleep? They
have the ability to shut down certain sections of their body and keep swimming! Some of our
sharks don't need to keep swimming, as you see here with the Rig Shark -- it can rest
on the ocean bed. Yet even the 'king of the sea' has enemies
-- humans. In many ocean regions there has been a drastic decline in the population of
sharks, due to commercial fishing for such products as sharkfin soup.
Every day at 2pm it's feeding time. If you're here then, you'll catch the sharks taking
food right from the diver's hand. We feed them fish -- lots of fish -- and as a treat,
sometimes we'll feed them their favourite -- squid.
Here at the Aquarium, you can actually swim with the sharks. It's a unique and exciting
experience to do on your own or with your friends. So take a chance -- come and swim
with the sharks here at the National Aquarium of New Zealand.