At least,  that is the story some of the lake’s fishermen are telling.

First sighted off Coon Island in the winter of 2013, one month later,  it was seen in the waters near the Belmont 16s club.

Since then,  it has been following the feed, zig-zagging its way across the coastal saltwater lake with sightings from Eleebana to Pulbah Island and Green Point. 

On Wednesday, it was spotted breaching near Pulbah Island,  and  on Thursday, it was filmed gliding through the water just off Murrays Beach.

Fisheries inspectors saw it on Friday near Cams Wharf.

A juvenile great white shark, a 300-kilogram predator who does not look set to leave our waters any time soon – that is the scenario if it is indeed the same shark.

‘‘I believe it’s the same shark,’’ fisherman Jason Nunn said.

‘‘It has taken up residence here ... it has been moving from area to area following the feed.’’

Mr Nunn runs Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point, and this is where many of the stories about The White have been exchanged. 

The shark was of particular concern, he said, but the likelihood of an attack was ‘‘unpredictable’’.

Mr Nunn was one of the first to see footage of the shark captured by fisher Clinton Bambach and posted on the Newcastle Herald’s website on Friday. 

‘‘It is a threat,’’ Mr Nunn said. ‘‘[It’s] very inquisitive. Very active.’’

The shark’s response to the splashing of water, as seen in the footage, shows it was ‘‘very aware of its surrounds, very responsive’’,  he said. ‘‘It was in hunting mode.’’

The most recent sighting was in an area where children regularly swim. On Friday,  Lake Macquarie Council put up  temporary shark warning signs at Murrays Beach.

As the size of the juvenile shark increases, so will the threat. 

‘‘He will get sick of small fish. If he gets to 12 or 14 foot, what will he eat then?’’ Mr Nunn asked.

Mr Nunn said the shark would be happier in the open seas. 

‘‘I don’t want to see him killed, but he could be removed and tagged,’’ he said.

He does not believe the presence of the shark warrants the lake being closed to swimming but warns people to use their commonsense.

‘‘If he’s deep,  you may not see him, but he will see you,’’ he said.

Shark expert and Southern Cross University researcher Dr Daniel Bucher said it was  possible the sightings   related to the  one shark.

‘‘It’s more than likely he is not there by choice, but can’t find his way out,’’ Dr Bucher said. ‘‘It’s a fairly small channel at Swansea, he would need to be able to find an outgoing current.’’

He said a resident great white shark in Lake Macquarie would be a concern.

‘‘As it gets older,  it will be looking for bigger things to eat,’’ he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Primary Industries said it was aware of the shark, but did not believe it was trapped in the lake.

‘‘Juvenile white sharks, such as the shark currently spotted in Lake Macquarie, are known to be abundant on the NSW Central Coast,’’ a spokesperson for the Department of Primary Industries said.

‘‘It is not unusual [for them] to be seen in estuaries and coastal lagoons like Lake Macquarie, and to freely move in and out of the lake.’’

The DPI said the public could find information at dpi.nsw.gov.au about reducing the  risks of a shark encounter.

Great white sharks are protected in NSW.

■ October 1946: A swimmer bitten on the leg at Swan Bay, Marks Point

■ February 2004: 3m bull or whaler seen near children at Belmont Bay; 2.5m shark swims under a boat near Belmont 16 Footers

■ March 2004: Shark fin appears near wakeboarder in Crangan Bay

■ April 2004: 2.5m  shark surfaces  near Cockle Creek boat ramp

■ July 2004: Scalloped hammerheads measuring 1.8m and 2.5m caught near the Eraring Power Station

■ October 2005: 1.8m shark seen ‘‘within jumping distance’’ of rocks at Reids Reserve, Swansea Channel

■ August 2009: 2m hammerhead caught near Eraring Power Station

■ July 2011: 2.7m hammerhead shark beached at Myuna Bay

■ August 2011: 1.5m hammerhead shark found dead at Myuna Bay

■ September 2012: Hammerhead at Gwandalan

■ November 2012: Whaler or great white seen  at Croudace Bay

■ March 2013: 2-3m great white circles boat at Pulbah

■ June 2013: 3m bull shark in shallows at Gwandalan

■ July and October 2013: 2m great white in Belmont Bay

■ December 2013: 3.5m great white repeatedly seen near Pulbah Island

■ September 2014: 2.5m bull shark tangled in  anchor near Bolton Point; 3m great white circles boat  between Belmont and Coal Point

■ December 2014: 2.5m great white shark filmed swimming in the shallows at Murrays Beach 

By DAN PROUDMAN and MATTHEW KELLY

THE man who captured  on video his amazing interaction with the great white shark at Murrays Beach said he was torn between alerting the general public and the well-being of the predator.

Fisherman Clinton Bambach said he feared there could be sections of the community who would wish the shark removed or killed and  others may  try to catch it themselves.

‘‘I would feel like I have done the wrong thing by the shark by opening my mouth and telling people it is there, if it’s going to get killed off for feeding,’’ Mr Bambach said. ‘‘But if someone gets taken and I didn’t say anything about it, and I knew and I’ve got footage of it being in that water, I would feel bad.

‘‘Being a fishermen myself and a lover of all creatures, I don’t want this shark to get injured just because it is feeding, it is just doing its thing.’’

Mr Bambach, who has been fishing Lake Macquarie since he was a child, said the water was the domain of sea creatures and humans needed to respect it.

He said sharks had called the lake home for years. He could not recall ever hearing of an attack on a human.

‘‘The shark may have been swimming there for God knows how many years past people, and never been spotted,’’ he said.

CSIRO great white shark researcher Barry Bruce said the shark appeared to be a juvenile, probably about 2.5metres long. He said, based on the vision he had seen, the shark was  healthy and simply curious about its surroundings.

‘‘It certainly wasn’t behaving aggressively,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not unusual to see great whites in the shallows; we often see them in the surf zone at this time of year.’’

What was unusual was  that it was seen inside a coastal estuary.

‘‘I think the people who witnessed it were incredibly lucky,’’ Dr Bruce said.

Great whites are protected. The maximum penalty for catching one  is a $22,000 fine and/or two years’ jail.

‘‘They are protected for a reason,’’ Dr Bruce said. ‘‘This shark was minding its own business and should be left alone.’’