Great white shark. Pic: Michiel Van Balen

5 January 2009 - In one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history, Richard Dreyfuss of Jaws cuts open a Great White Shark to reveal a crushed tin can and a license plate. Auckland Museum plans to recreate this incredible feat when it performs a public autopsy on a 3.0 metre long, 300 kg Great White Shark on Thursday, 8 January. The Museum and the Department of Conservation hope the experience will raise awareness of the threats facing this magnificent and vulnerable species, and dispel some of the unfortunate myths about it.

The large Great White Shark was retrieved in the Kaipara Harbour on Monday last week, entangled and dead in a gill net. The fisherman notified the Department of Conservation Auckland Area staff who recovered the shark.

The Great White Shark is protected in New Zealand. It is not against the law to accidentally kill a Great White Shark, but it is illegal not to inform the Department of Conservation if one is caught or killed. The autopsy, or necropsy as it's officially known, will be carried out by Clinton Duffy of the Department of Conservation Marine Conservation Section and Tom Trnski, Marine Curator of the Auckland Museum.

"This is a rare opportunity for people to get a close look at a Great White, and to see how scientists find out more about the complexities of the natural world through their research," says Tom Trnski. "Little is known about the life history of these apex predators of the ocean, and we hope to learn more about the shark's recent past before it came into the harbour."

The operation will examine the shark's stomach contents, as well as take measurements of internal organs. The public are invited to view the autopsy and come face to face with the shark from 11am-1pm in the loading dock at the south-eastern corner of the Museum.