WA Government to cull all sharks over 3 metres in length

[little graham]

T The number of large tiger sharks just off the beaches has no doubt been an eye-opener. In any case, few fatal attacks have occurred Dec-Feb.

Can you link us to articles about fatal tiger shark attacks in WA ? How many, when, where? Then we can see how effective the indiscriminate slaughter of tiger sharks has been?

 

[Pie in the Sky]

There is a reasonable argument to be made about that (no bull sharks caught yet). So little is known; nobody can tell you how many of a given species are in WA waters at a given time. The number of large tiger sharks just off the beaches has no doubt been an eye-opener. In any case, few fatal attacks have occurred Dec-Feb.

Nowhere have I said there aren't valid arguments to be made against the cull.


Of course it hasn't been proven in WA. There is necessarily a certain amount of guesswork in the WA government's approach. You also need to consider that tourism is worth $8.5b and 55,000 jobs annually to the state. It's a balancing act. Part of that balance is restoring confidence to water users.

Some have argued that the Queensland and NSW programs have not been effective, and have arrived at other reasons to explain the dramatic fall in the number of people killed at protected beaches. But the bottom line (i.e. fatalities) is what it is.

No doubt there's plenty of tigers around, they're not killing anyone though. I'd say that netting probably does work to an extent, but it causes a lot of problems too. I'd like to see the stats on the different species attacks in NSW and Queensland, I'd say bull sharks are a bigger problem there, especially in Queensland where white sharks get rarer the further north you go. A territorial shark like the bull is a lot easier to control than a migratory one.

The chances of been taken by a great white on a WA beach is so small to begin with, I just can't see that baits that may or may not catch a cruising shark would change the odds in any significant way.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Can you link us to articles about fatal tiger shark attacks in WA ? How many, when, where? Then we can see how effective the indiscriminate slaughter of tiger sharks has been?

There aren't many.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31046776
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/28066049

Human remains have been found inside other tiger sharks, but it's uncertain whether these were swallowed post mortem.

As already stated, the program is necessarily somewhat experimental in nature. To date it appears not to be catching the individuals most likely to cause death. Conclusions will no doubt be drawn at the end of the program which will add valuable information to the sum total of knowledge.

 

[Ron The Bear]

No doubt there's plenty of tigers around, they're not killing anyone though. I'd say that netting probably does work to an extent, but it causes a lot of problems too. I'd like to see the stats on the different species attacks in NSW and Queensland, I'd say bull sharks are a bigger problem there, especially in Queensland where white sharks get rarer the further north you go. A territorial shark like the bull is a lot easier to control than a migratory one.

The chances of been taken by a great white on a WA beach is so small to begin with, I just can't see that baits that may or may not catch a cruising shark would change the odds in any significant way.

There are differing views. Some sharks are highly territorial; one theory holds that nets deter them from establishing hunting grounds on the beachfront. So many theories...

 

[Pie in the Sky]

There are differing views. Some sharks are highly territorial; one theory holds that nets deter them from establishing hunting grounds on the beachfront. So many theories...

True, we don't know much about shark behaviour in general. I'm all for investing in as much research as possible, but I don't agree with the killing part.

 

[slicedndiced]

If you look more closely at the report, it finds

Yeah, it also says...

n bathing less
than 25m from shore in water less than 5m deep (risk lower
than 1 in 20 years) is estimated to be at least 50x safer than
cycling.

and we're not culling idiots who knock people arse over head from their Malvern Star.

I know you live and die by your stats Ron, (as noted from the Main Board), but that doesn't make this policy any less of a cluster* and the ultimate in policy on the run to appease the nuff nuffs in society.

There is a reasonable argument to be made about that (no bull sharks caught yet). So little is known; nobody can tell you how many of a given species are in WA waters at a given time. The number of large tiger sharks just off the beaches has no doubt been an eye-opener. In any case, few fatal attacks have occurred Dec-Feb.

Not to anybody who has wet a line of the WA coast, which I have for the past 40 odd years. There has always been large numbers of Tiger Sharks off our coastline.

 

[little graham]

There aren't many.

.

Is there any and when was the last one? So why are we killing dozens of tiger sharks a month and hiding the deaths of many more?

 

[DrKrieger]

Just out of curiosity Ron, do you find it concerning that there are so many tigers just outside the breakers, or reassuring that they've been that close every time you've been in the ocean and haven't made any attempt to harm you?

I can see how that information could be taken either way depending on the individual.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Is there any and when was the last one? So why are we killing dozens of tiger sharks a month and hiding the deaths of many more?

I linked to a couple.

Who is hiding the deaths of what? Facts please, not rumours started by Sea Shepherd.

Just out of curiosity Ron, do you find it concerning that there are so many tigers just outside the breakers, or reassuring that they've been that close every time you've been in the ocean and haven't made any attempt to harm you?

I can see how that information could be taken either way depending on the individual.

Would probably find it somewhat reassuring if I were a Perth water user, since it fits the previously-held perception that shark attacks are exceedingly rare. Still, tiger sharks aren't the reason for the drum lines...

Not to anybody who has wet a line of the WA coast, which I have for the past 40 odd years. There has always been large numbers of Tiger Sharks off our coastline.

Are there any whites around Perth ATM? What happens when the waters cool and the whites appear - do the tigers clear out or do they happily co-mingle?

 

[slicedndiced]

I linked to a couple.

Who is hiding the deaths of what? Facts please, not rumours started by Sea Shepherd.


Would probably find it somewhat reassuring if I were a Perth water user, since it fits the previously-held perception that shark attacks are exceedingly rare. Still, tiger sharks aren't the reason for the drum lines...


Are there any whites around Perth ATM? What happens when the waters cool and the whites appear - do the tigers clear out or do they happily co-mingle?

It is obviously only my anecdotal evidence, however I have caught Tigers of varying sizes all year round, (from Augusta to Geraldton), as a by catch of chasing Dhufish, Baldchin and Pink Snapper. Very prevalent species.

Whereas, GW's are prevalent during the whale migration.

This whole new fad of "youtubing" GW's stalking boats as if it has never happened before is rubbish. Big GW's have been doing that for years. They're a highly inquisitive animal.

 

[slicedndiced]

No by-catch huh Colin?



They must be using the tarp to keep the shark** ...umm... warm.

** Dolphin, seal, whatever

This is North Koreanesque bullshit on behalf of the WA Government.

 

[TheLoris]

Are there any whites around Perth ATM? What happens when the waters cool and the whites appear - do the tigers clear out or do they happily co-mingle?

There will still be a few about, a 3.5m white was spotted off Rottnest island a couple of days ago. I had two sets of friends buzzed by whites last summer(March) while diving, so you'll always get a % of the population that don't head south with the whale migration. We've had a few colonies of NZ fur seals popping up along the coast in recent years so that's a year round food source for them as well as pretty healthy fish stocks.

Sure they cohabit fine with Tiger sharks, in fact I remember a whale carcass floating off Rottnest a couple of years back, there were both Tigers and Whites feeding on it at the same time. Probably still eat the small ones when they get a chance.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

There will still be a few about, a 3.5m white was spotted off Rottnest island a couple of days ago. I had two sets of friends buzzed by whites last summer(March) while diving, so you'll always get a % of the population that don't head south with the whale migration. We've had a few colonies of NZ fur seals popping up along the coast in recent years so that's a year round food source for them as well as pretty healthy fish stocks.

Sure they cohabit fine with Tiger sharks, in fact I remember a whale carcass floating off Rottnest a couple of years back, there were both Tigers and Whites feeding on it at the same time. Probably still eat the small ones when they get a chance.

So if we killed a few whales each year we would probably fill up a heap of sharks , keeping them subdued for weeks.

 

[Pie in the Sky]

So if we killed a few whales each year we would probably fill up a heap of sharks , keeping them subdued for weeks.

If we killed all the whales the sharks wouldn't be following the migration along the coast each year and there would be a lot less sharks coming close to humans. Problem solved.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

If we killed all the whales the sharks wouldn't be following the migration along the coast each year and there would be a lot less sharks coming close to humans. Problem solved.

Probably true. Their endangered status suggests that there is not a glut of white pointers, so therefore, if they are coming close to the WA beaches more often there are other reasons at play.

 

[Pie in the Sky]

Probably true. Their endangered status suggests that there is not a glut of white pointers, so therefore, if they are coming close to the WA beaches more often there are other reasons at play.

The attack numbers in WA jumped at around the same time whale numbers started to really recover, and a lot of the attacks are happening while whales are migrating by. The great whites follow the whales to eat their calves. I'd say it has a fair bit to do with the increase in attacks, not sure a whale cull would go down too well though.

 

[Gus Poyet]

not sure a whale cull would go down too well though.

A whale burger might though!

 

[SaintsSeptember]

A whale burger might though!

Can I have baby seal bacon on it?

 

[TheLoris]

Probably true. Their endangered status suggests that there is not a glut of white pointers, so therefore, if they are coming close to the WA beaches more often there are other reasons at play.

Pretty sure white sharks aren't endangered, they are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, not far off I guess. However, there doesn't seem to be much reliable population data, so no-one really knows what their numbers are like in WA. One thing for sure though, the drumlines will be in place at a time when their numbers of our coast are at their lowest. So it probably won't achieve much.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3855/0

Either way, I don't think photos like this will make the cut for the next WA tourist brochure with Perth in the background....would be great to see first hand though

 

[slicedndiced]

A whale burger might though!

Ate a bit of it in Japan, (shoot me), and it is over-rated.

 

[Gus Poyet]

Ate a bit of it in Japan, (shoot me), and it is over-rated.

Everything is overated to someone. To others it's the bomb.

 

[Gus Poyet]

Can I have baby seal bacon on it?

Eat what ya want. I don't mind.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Pretty sure white sharks aren't endangered, they are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, not far off I guess. However, there doesn't seem to be much reliable population data, so no-one really knows what their numbers are like in WA. One thing for sure though, the drumlines will be in place at a time when their numbers of our coast are at their lowest. So it probably won't achieve much.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3855/0



Either way, I don't think photos like this will make the cut for the next WA tourist brochure with Perth in the background....would be great to see first hand though

View attachment 44210

I'd suggest there are none in W.A. There are plenty in the ocean.. You just need to guess which ones will attack someone and eliminate them. Maybe hire a clairvoyant. But the next shark to attack someone could be off the coast of Africa right now.

 

[WA ROO]

Waiting for drum line at Cable Beach next

 

[2Knights]

A few people died in the water over a number of years...How many die on WA roads every year?

WA road deaths for 2013 = 163. You think the WA public would tolerate shark attack deaths approaching this number? Comparing numbers of shark attack deaths with road deaths (or any other unrelated cause-of-death number) is puerile.