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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Western Australia: Shark Attack Central
- Thread starter LeeToRainesToRoach
- Start date
WesternTiger said:
Haven't heard anyone, including Bolt, call for sharks to be exterminated. Not even Vic Hislop.
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
You mentioned exterminated not me.
As I posted earlier he his advocating for the indescriminate killing of sharks in the belief that it will make it safer for people to undertake "recreational" activities. That's pretty extreme in my book.
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
The trend in the last 20 years? Around 1 death a year. Factor in population increases since the 1920s and that's easily explained.
A death by shark attack is gruesome and tragic for individuals, but compared to the numbers of deaths from other accidental causes they pale into insignificance. Of course A Current Affair and professional agitators like Bolta want to whip us into a frenzy, but it's pleasing to see only a small minority on PRE falling for it.
antman said:
Compared with 2 from the 1920's-1990's? WA's most prolific growth occurred 1970-2000, when the population doubled (and it's currently experiencing the smallest growth in its history).
No, it's an alarming trend that has manifested itself after the great white was protected in 1997.
You can keep comparing shark attack deaths to other fatalities... I won't respond as it's a quintessential strawman.
Nobody's in a frenzy here as far as I can tell. We just disagree as to whether the current rate of consumption by man-eating fish is acceptable.
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
Another thing to consider is how popular surfing has become in the past 20 years. I haven't any stats but I have live on the surf coast for 20 years and the amount of people in the water has increased massively.
I imagine it would be the same the Australia wide. Surfing appears to be a mainstream sport these days, and so many more people are exposed to sharks than they ever have been before.
josey said:
Although I can't find any figures to quantify it, it makes sense. However it also makes sense that more people are using the water elsewhere. WA is experiencing a troubling increase in fatalities whereas e.g. Queensland and NSW beaches are far safer places than in the past.
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
without knowing i would think there is a difference in the type of shark that frequents the waters off southern WA (which is where the sharks attack appear to be), to the sharks that are found in the warmer waters off Queensland.
actually there is probably a fair chance that climate change, and the resultant warmer oceans are pushing the sharks further south.
Streak said:
I live in the Crocodile islands so....well I don't go swimming or splashing around in the mangroves.
LeeToRainesToRoach said:
That's interesting. Up here there's been a lot of media over the last few years about the rise of shark attacks on surfers around the north Coast of NSW, especially around Ballina, and also Byron Bay.
...Part II, since the original thread is locked for no apparent reason.
Following two attacks on the same day off Gracetown on Monday, organisers of the Margaret River Pro surf tournament have cancelled the event, citing unacceptable risk.
Two Brazilian competitors aired their concerns on social media but WA surfer Taj Burrow criticised the decision, saying it would have a devastating effect on local business and tourism.
The article below details concerns that the event may not return to Margaret River.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-18/margaret-river-pro-cancelled-after-shark-attacks-near-gracetown/9670586
The original question remains... what to do?
Following two attacks on the same day off Gracetown on Monday, organisers of the Margaret River Pro surf tournament have cancelled the event, citing unacceptable risk.
Two Brazilian competitors aired their concerns on social media but WA surfer Taj Burrow criticised the decision, saying it would have a devastating effect on local business and tourism.
The article below details concerns that the event may not return to Margaret River.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-18/margaret-river-pro-cancelled-after-shark-attacks-near-gracetown/9670586
The original question remains... what to do?
Reunion has a similar problem to WA, and officials there are at a loss.
"It is still illegal to surf, and the rules and regulations are simply in place to protect those officials in charge from getting into legal troubles, and not to protect ocean-users.
Reunion is the highest-risk location for a shark attack in the whole world, and little has really been done in shark mitigation processes.
There have been nets, there have been drumlines, and there have been extensive security watches – divers, boats, drones etc. – but all have been short-lived and experimental, while nothing is being done on a political level to stop the constant attacks.
A large chuck of coastline on the west coast of Reunion was declared a no-fishing zone back in 2007, and something went out of whack with the ecosystem in the process. There are many theories, including loss of natural food for sharks, and the sudden drop on shark catching, but either way, the bull sharks came to town."
https://www.tracksmag.com.au/news/the-sharks-of-reunion-485665
"It is still illegal to surf, and the rules and regulations are simply in place to protect those officials in charge from getting into legal troubles, and not to protect ocean-users.
Reunion is the highest-risk location for a shark attack in the whole world, and little has really been done in shark mitigation processes.
There have been nets, there have been drumlines, and there have been extensive security watches – divers, boats, drones etc. – but all have been short-lived and experimental, while nothing is being done on a political level to stop the constant attacks.
A large chuck of coastline on the west coast of Reunion was declared a no-fishing zone back in 2007, and something went out of whack with the ecosystem in the process. There are many theories, including loss of natural food for sharks, and the sudden drop on shark catching, but either way, the bull sharks came to town."
https://www.tracksmag.com.au/news/the-sharks-of-reunion-485665
Bonnie Holmes, of the University of Queensland school of biological sciences, last year called for tiger sharks to join great whites on the protected-species list, but these days is reluctant to say why they should be protected.
After tiger sharks were suspected to have been the cause of two serious attacks in the Whitsundays in September, I called to ask politely if she still thought they should be protected. She did.
Asked why, she said: “Because I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life researching them.”
Then she hung up.
Blood in the water but experts are still at sea on shark danger (paywalled)
Calls to mind the Simpsons episode where academics take control of Springfield and it ends in disaster.
After tiger sharks were suspected to have been the cause of two serious attacks in the Whitsundays in September, I called to ask politely if she still thought they should be protected. She did.
Asked why, she said: “Because I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life researching them.”
Then she hung up.
Blood in the water but experts are still at sea on shark danger (paywalled)
Calls to mind the Simpsons episode where academics take control of Springfield and it ends in disaster.
