With attacks on the rise, is it time to start culling sharks?
“All these Great Whites are wigging me out...I'm not even frothed for a macking offshore day approaching.” – West Australian charger Dino Adrian's Facebook status, yesterday.
On Monday 10 October 64 year-old man Bryn Martin disappeared from Cottesloe Beach while taking a dip. Later that afternoon his frayed bathers were recovered, prompting the constabulary to close the beach till further notice. A shark is said to have been sighted by diners at a Trigg Beach cafe, 16km north of Cottesloe, hours after the disappearance. Police confirmed yesterday the search now is about finding evidence, not recovery.
“Not surfing anymore too many sharks! Start the hunt! Garage sale!! All boards must go!” joked Cottesloe ripper Tevita Gukilau on the social network. Unfortunately it’s no laughing matter – shark numbers, and attacks, are rising.
Since November 2000 there have been five fatal attacks in West Australia. Prior to that the last one was in 1925. It’s not just attacks that have increased, but the shark population in general. “Numbers have increased and attacks and sightings are more common now,” says Cottesloe Board Riders president Jason Shaw. “There have been plenty of sightings from fishermen off the Perth coastline, and in close as well. Everyone is getting spooked because it’s happening where we surf.”
It’s evident noah numbers are on the rise, but why?
Since 1999 the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act has protected sharks from being culled in Australia, with the aim of growing an apparently endangered population. Now Jaws no longer has any predators and its food sources are dwindling due to over-fishing. ASL spoke to Mark Meekan of the Australian Institute of Maritime Science after the Gracetown attack in August last year . He stated that it’s “biologically impossible” for shark numbers to have increased in that time, but other sources are calling bullshit.
“Every time there is a protection act instated its aim is to increase numbers,” said Dr Terry Peake of the Shark Research Institute of Australia, an organisation that is neutral because it does not receive any government funding. “It doesn’t take an expert to see shark numbers are on the increase. If you talk to divers, surfers and fishermen they’ll all confirm it. They’re the ones in the ocean. They know.”
That's one ugly mutha...
“There’s a lot of ‘green money’ tied up in shark research. Certain organisations are given money to protect something, so they do whatever it takes to say they’re protecting it, then at the end of tenure they present facts saying protection must continue so they receive more grants,” explains Dr. Peake.
As fishing stocks deplete, sharks are starting to adapt their food sources. “Sharks need food with a high fat content and in the past humans wouldn’t provide that,” says Dr Peake. “However they’re getting desperate. Now we’re hearing stories about people completely disappearing, not just being bitten. It’s not a case of mistaken identity anymore, sharks are adapting out of necessity.”
The current strategy to deal with rouge sharks is to herd them away from crowded areas with boats, but according to Terry Peake this strategy is futile. “Sharks have genetic memory,” he explains. “There used to be huge colonies of seals at Cottesloe so sharks are programmed to go there. They’ll just keep returning to places where they think there’s going to be food.”
So should harpoons be cocked or nets put up?
If you could catch and move them that would be great, but it’s not possible,” says Jason Shaw. “The coastline here is too straight for nets to work too. If any large shark is found close to the coast, even between here and Rottnest, they need to be shot - they don't belong here in these shallow waters.”
“If a dog bites or kills someone it’s automatically put down. Why should sharks be treated any differently?”
What do you think?
Think you’re safe surfing with dolphins? Think again. Sure, there’s urban legends about them protecting humans from sharks, but the fact is they hang around together grazing on the same food. Dolphins have to come up for air. Sharks don’t.
Avoid Dusk And Dawn Sessions ?
The majority of great white attacks happen mid-afternoon, which is when most people are in the water. Contrary to popular belief great whites are more efficient hunters when visibility is clear.
Ever heard you’re more likely to be hit by a coconut or struck by lightning than be eaten by a shark. Pure garbage. Why? Check out the Shark Research Institute website here .
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