GET used to seeing bull sharks caught in the Hastings River because they are lurking beneath the surface in large numbers.
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That is the word from the Department of Primary Industries' Fisheries Department after another large shark was snagged recently.
Chris and Anthony Micallef caught the animal on Saturday night, just weeks after Denis Rivers caught a whopper at a nearby location west of Port Macquarie.
The pair were helped by Mr Rivers to land the beast, which took nearly three hours of manhandling and extracted a few choice words from the group.
After snapping some photographs, the 10-foot bull shark was released back into the river.
Chris Micallef said it was the biggest he has caught.
"It's the biggest one I've ever seen in person too, and definitely the heaviest," he said.
A DPI spokeswoman reminded the community the species are present in Mid-North Coast rivers all year round.
However she said large females are more likely at the moment as they give birth.
"It is the only widely distributed shark that is capable of penetrating far into fresh water for extended periods," she said.
"Females generally give birth in estuaries and the young can remain in the river for up to five years."
The abundance of food including mullet and eel means the sharks aren't in a hurry to leave.
Swimmers and skiers were warned the species is one of the "top three potentially dangerous shark species that have been responsible for interactions with humans".
"It is a dangerous shark due to its broad diet, abundance and its habitat preference for shallow, murky, inshore waters," the spokeswoman said.
And the sizes caught recently are exactly what the DPI expects, with adults ranging from two metres to 3.5 metres in length and up to 230 kilograms in weight.
The DPI's research programs show numbers of the species in the river are steady, though they can be caught recreationally and/or commercially and sold in the fish and chip market.
