A combined Department of Conservation (DOC), National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and Auckland University research team is heading to Stewart Island this week in an attempt to learn more about an often much maligned creature, the white shark, also known as the great white or white pointer.

The research will be conducted from the DOC vessel Hananui from 20 March - 1 April 2010, around the Titi Islands located off Stewart Island's northeast coast, as weather permits.

Boat divers and kayakers are advised to avoid the areas where the research is being conducted while the boat is on station and for at least 24 hours afterward as the team will be using berley (a mixture of minced fish and fish oil) to attract sharks.

"Fragments of berley may settle to the bottom and continue to hold a shark or sharks at the site for several hours after berleying has ceased", says DOC shark expert Clinton Duffy.

The principal study sites for this trip will be Bench and Edwards Islands. The research team will shift between these islands and other sites depending on weather conditions and the presence or absence of sharks.

"We will relay the location of the study vessel daily via local fishermen's radio, to alert any divers or kayakers," says Mr Duffy. "This information will be updated each time the vessel shifts site."

The waters around Stewart Island have long been recognised as a hot spot for white sharks in New Zealand. This is the fourth year the team has travelled south to undertake photo-identification and tagging in an attempt to learn more about this now protected species.

"Any tags deployed will be set to 'pop off' and float to the surface after a pre-determined time , usually around 6 - 12 months," says Mr Duffy.

"The data transmitted from the shark will tell where it has travelled since tagging took place and, if the tag can be retrieved, will also provide a wealth of other information such as dive times, depths and water temperatures."

An opportunity for the public to learn more about this research project will be available while the researchers are on the island. Mr Duffy and NIWA scientist Malcolm Francis will present information, including video footage of the sharks sighted and evidence of the routes travelled by sharks tagged in previous years at a public talk in the Stewart Island Community Centre on 29 March.