A fisherman who captured a video of a huge shark leapt out of the water on to the front of his boat, coming face to face with those on board, described it as 'a crazy moment”.

Skipper Ryan Churches, owner of Churchy's Charters in Whitianga in the Coromandel, recorded a mako shark propelling itself on to the front of his fishing vessel which he uses to take up to five people on fishing trips from Whitianga wharf to catch kingfish, snapper and blue nose.

Those on board got a bigger catch than they were expecting when the mako shark caught them by surprise and jumped right in front of their eyes on to the front of the boat, thrashing around on the front hood.

Mako sharks are world renowned jumpers, are nicknamed 'blue dynamite”, and have been known to leap up to six metres out of the water. The sharks, which are abundant in New Zealand coastal waters, can grow up to 4m long.

Video: Churchy Charters NZ/Facebook.

The 2.5m shark remained on the Whitianga boat for several minutes before returning to its home in the ocean.

While they reacted with shouts of 'whoa...” and 'holy”, one shouted to 'get a picture”.

When Church posted the video, hundreds reacted, saying it must have been 'scary”.

One poster noted in the video that the crew had the toilet roll at the ready.

'Lucky that they have the toilet paper handy on the dash!”

The 7.7m boat, called Church, is equipped with safety glass windows, and 5 square metres of deck. The fishing is done from the back of the boat.

An influx of sharks is expected in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel waters, predicted experts who have launched a study into why there has been an increase of great white sharks in the region in the last two summers.

Phil Ross, University of Waikato marine ecologist, says there's likely to be more shark sightings this summer. Photo: Supplied.

The University of Waikato's marine ecologist Phil Ross is spearheading the new research team in collaboration with local iwi, and according to the marine biologist, more sharks encounters are highly likely this summer.

The study will attempt to address community concern about growing shark numbers after members of the region's surfing and fishing communities became increasingly fearful for their safety on the water.

Waihī Beach in the Western Bay of Plenty was the scene of the last fatal shark attack in New Zealand in January 2021, when Hamilton woman Kaelah Marlow died after being mauled in the ocean by a great white shark.

This was the first fatal shark attack in the region since 1976, when a spear fisherman was killed by a bronze whaler shark at Te Kaha – a small beach town near Ōpōtiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Since the attack at Waihī Beach, there have been a number of great white shark sightings over the past year, with videos posted online of sharks circling fishing boats and chasing fish.

In December 2021, two great white sharks washed up on Bowentown beach in the Coromandel, near the scene of the fatal attack a month later.

Since then, encounters have increased in the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty waters.

Vaughan Wilson, 52, a Mount Maunganui surfer known as Willow, had an encounter with a 3.5m great white shark in March, which narrowly missed attacking a 14-year-old boy. Photo: Maree Wilson/Stuff.

Earlier this year, Mount surfer Vaughan Wilson had a near miss with a '3.5-metre monster” just off Matakana Island.

Wilson told Stuff that the shark was in hunting mode and 'out to kill” as it leapt out of the water with 'jaws wide open”, narrowly missing a 14-year-old boy who was surfing with his father and Wilson nearby.

- Annemarie Quill/Stuff.