I have surfed and speared all around rotto for ages and the likely hood of seeing a shark let alone being attacked by one is slim to none. Trying to cull a species that can swim up to 70km a day and migrate from as far away as south africa and south aus wont do any good. If the goverment is really that concerned they should give a rebate on the purchase of shark shields for concerned public ocean users.
Or put more shark nets out
On thursday they pulled a 3 - 4meter great white in from a shark net off bar beach.
On Friday I flew along the beach from Birubi to Stockton and saw 5 x 3-4 meter whites, spaced around a km apart, 30-40 metres from the beach, just outside where the tiny waves were starting to break, swimming parallel to the shore.
Hot water & flat conditions always brings them closer to shore, I never see them around the surf zone when it's not flat.
GW sharks do attack randomly with fatal results, but don't usually eat people as a staple - why? We sit on the beaches like seals do, flop around in the ocean, even dangle ourselves like lures from the end of kites.
Its not because they are "Afraid of Us" - I doubt they have the brainpower to work that out, and besides they swim between Perth and South Africa in a season. Who are they gonna be afraid of?
I reckon its because they have other more stable and reliable sources of food they have got used to eating for the last 200 million years. Maybe we don't taste that great (too much neoprene and fibreglass), or we aren't worth hunting in terms of energy and protein.
So the shark sticks to his normal diet. Unless, of course, those food sources are becoming less stable and unreliable... maybe then they would need to munch a few more people, come further inshore and take risks they normally wouldn't?
Now, I'm not a fishing-basher - but there are certainly less resources in the ocean than a couple of decades ago. Something has gotta give... its simple logic.
here's some reading again:
theconversation.com/cull-or-be-killed-is-this-really-the-solution-to-stop-shark-attacks-3961
I remember years ago there was a rescue operation to rescue 3 whales trapped under ice. The rescuers had to constantly drill breathe holes for the whales. After a few weeks and millions of dollars spent they were freed. Considering how many whales are slaughtered on a daily basis, I think the irony of spending millions rescuing 3 whales, was lost on a hopelessly naive public. Again with the sharks, hundreds of sharks are killed everyday worldwide, yet suddenly when we are talking about killing 4 or 5 sharks the country is in uproar. I'm not saying they should be culled, but the argument against culling them is moronic and illogical. Armchair activists...
saw a shark at St Kilda today in shallows.. not soo exciting tho was only a Wobbagong i think, still was cool to follow it around a bit..
Thanks for the references regarding predator studies. The Science article certainly deserves careful examination, although at first glance the described effects of apex predator decline do not appear to match the catastrophic environmental collapse that some on this forum predict will take place upon resumption of GW fishing. Rather, there is solid evidence (published in Nature) that fingers commercial fishing of the oceans at industrial levels as one of the most profoundly environment destabilising activities. Thus, while culling GW sharks is unpallatable to many, grinding up millions of tuna fish to make pet food may be a much greater environmental folly.
I agree, fishing of the oceans has been described as being akin to "strip mining the oceans"
That's why I'm not a big fan of fish, despite it tasting awesome and being really healthy for you. Sure we might strip the land for farming but most of the time farmers work to manage the land they work and we can actively rehabilitate it.
I still think someone out there has the technology for producing buoys that emit a similar, but much stronger, more wide ranging pulse as the Shark Sheildz do. Several of these buoys placed 100m or so off beaches as a kind of "virtual", net *might* have the desired effect......if of course it can be proven that the pulse idea does actually work on the GW's receptors etc.
Nah leave 'em alone - world doesn't need (yet) another extinct species.
I just wonder why there hasn't there been more detailed study into GW's breeding patterns and where these big buggers give birth - and the worldwide funding of a GW tagging program though. .... jmo
How about we spread the rumour that they taste like abalone and that fisheries are introducing a fishing season starting January 2012.
I recon the problem would be solved by end of November 2011
just been out for a big one 25 to 30 knts probably plenty of sharks underneath mooching around, would i rather be anywhere else, dont think so cauncy
Lets start killing a few humans there is a lot of trash out there leave the sharks be.
