People fishing in the Bay of Islands are being asked to keep a look out for a young hammerhead shark, nicknamed Orokawa.

Orokawa is providing scientists with information on his whereabouts after becoming the first electronically tagged hammerhead to provide useful data in New Zealand waters.

The young shark, just 137cm long, was tagged last Sunday near Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands by fisherman Scott Tindale.

"We were anchored within casting distance of the rocks and saw a hammerhead swimming towards us on the surface," Mr Tindale said.

"I cast a bait towards him and he took it straight away. Because he was small we were able to get him in the boat, oxygenate his gills with seawater from a deck hose, and tag and release him within five minutes."

NIWA shark expert Dr Malcolm Francis has been contracted by the Ministry for Primary Industries to find out more about the biology, behaviour and stock status of hammerhead sharks in a bid to determine whether they are threatened by overfishing.

Dr Francis and Mr Tindale plan to tag a number of hammerheads - recognisable by their bizarre head shape - in the coming year to determine whether they are resident or migratory and what they do.

Little is known about the species, its habitat or abundance in New Zealand and Dr Francis says the young hammerheads are vulnerable to capture by set nets, longlines and trawls.

"They seem to be very sensitive to capture and most of them die before they can be ret

urned to the sea."

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Public asked to look out for young hammerhead shark