IT’S the kind of place kids love — wide, open spaces, plenty of food, the threats are few and the parents are usually nowhere to be seen.

The stretch of coast just north of Newcastle has long had a reputation as being a “nursery” for juvenile white pointer sharks.

Now CSIRO shark researcher Barry Bruce has confirmed that the conditions are currently ideal for the young predators to thrive.

At any time up to 250 great white sharks, most measuring less than 3m, are thought to frequent the coastal strip from Stockton Beach to Seal Rocks on the mid north coast, feeding on fish until they grow big enough to start hunting larger prey further afield.

But shark experts say larger, older white pointers, like the one that forced the closure of Newcastle beaches repeatedly last month, are much rarer visitors.

media_camera A shark swimming in the waters of Stockton Beach, Newcastle recently.

media_camera A great white shark swims close to the shore north of Stockton Beach in Newcastle recently.

Dr Bruce said the East Australian Current delivered nutrient-rich water to the area north of Newcastle around Stockton Bight, drawing in fish, followed by the juvenile great whites that fed on them.

“Sharks are most common in the area from spring through to mid-summer and are usually focused on the near-shore,” he said.

“Juvenile white sharks are much less common outside this area and are generally transiting north or south from it.

“The footprint of the nursery area varies slightly from year to year.”

But contrary to popular belief, Stockton Bight is not where white pointers actually breed or give birth.

“There are no newborn sharks in the area,” Dr Bruce said, adding that most were thought to be aged from two to six.

“Evidence suggests white sharks breed in Bass Strait and juveniles move up and down the east coast between the nursery areas off Port Stephens and south-east Victoria.”

media_camera Beaches around Newcastle, including Stockton Beach, were closed due to shark sightings earlier this year.

media_camera Kate Morse, of Canberra, enjoys the summer weather with her daughters (from left) Lily, 9, and Imogen, 7, at Birubi Beach in Anna Bay while holidaying at Port Stephens. Birubi Beach is the next beach north of Stockton Beach and it lies in an area where sharks breed. Picture: Liam Driver

The CSIRO has already undertaken extensive tagging of great white sharks off Stockton Bight, with plans to expand research and conduct a detailed population analysis later this year.

University of Newcastle marine ecologist Dr David Powter said white pointers 3m and smaller were unlikely to attack humans.

“Their teeth and jaw structures haven’t developed to a stage where they are capable of consuming large prey like seals and dolphins,” he said.

“That’s not to say that when they are sub-3m they are not capable of biting a person, but they are unlikely to target humans.”

The CSIRO said: “The frequency of encounters between people and sharks can be high, although the frequency of attacks in such areas is very low.”

However, relatively small great whites have been responsible for at least two attacks on humans in recent years, with a 3m specimen mauling surfer Glen Folkard off Redhead Beach in 2012 and a 2m white pointer responsible for an attack on surfer Ben Morcom inside Port Stephens in 2007.

SHARK STATS

● They use and lose over 1000 teeth in their lifetime

● They live for 25 years on average but can live up to 70 years

● They can be as long as 6m in length and on average weigh up to 2250kg

● Great Whites can swim up to 24km/hr

● They can detect one drop of blood in 100L of water

● When sharks are in the womb they swallow their own teeth, perhaps for the calcium and minerals

● Great Whites are warm-blooded so can regulate their temperature and adapt to climates

● They have seven senses - sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, electro-reception (electric fields generated by other animals) and a lateral line (water pressure and vibrations)

● They don’t have eyelids, but roll their eyes into their heads to protect them from being scratched

● In a year they eat around 11,000kg of food