Shark cull planned for popular WA beaches

By:AAP with AG staff | September-28-2012

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The Western Australian government has announced a plan to cull great white sharks near popular beaches.

WA Premier Colin Barnett has announced that sharks near popular beaches will be culled. (Credit: Getty)

A PLAN TO PROTECT West Australian beachgoers by killing great white sharks that come too close has angered animal welfare advocates and conservationists.

Many were also affronted by Premier Colin Barnett's dismissal of the animals as just "fish".

The government on Thursday announced a $6.85 million package of "shark mitigation" strategies in response to five fatal attacks in the state's waters within 10 months.

It has allocated $2 million for a new Department of Fisheries service to track, catch and destroy sharks found in close proximity to swimmers.

Shark cull "proactive"

The government has also redefined the circumstances in which an order may be given to kill sharks that pose an imminent threat to humans.

"Previously the orders were used in response to an attack, but now proactive action will be taken if a large white shark presents imminent threat to people," Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said.

Baited drum lines could also be set to capture sharks that presented a danger, he added.

Premier Colin Barnett said it was "not going to be a shark hunt".

"We will always put the lives and safety of beachgoers ahead of the shark," he told ABC radio. "This is, after all, a fish - let's keep it in perspective."

(Related story: Timeline of shark attacks in Australia)

Conservationists say shark cull is kneejerk reaction

The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) said the "guilty until proven innocent" approach was a kneejerk reaction to public concern that would harm the environment and would not protect swimmers.

"We urge the government not to use the new kill powers for sharks," CCWA marine co-ordinator Tim Nicol said. "We are...concerned that this policy perpetuates the fear that all large sharks are potential killers, when in fact we do not know this."

The Wilderness Society was also critical of "pre-emptive cullings", while ABC radio talkback callers flooded the phone lines, with many saying the best way to stay safe was to stay out of the shark's habitat.

Some said the strategies were vote-grabbing stunts.

Funding for shark research

The premier his opposition to shark nets because they posed a threat to marine life.

Instead, $2 million will go towards continuing shark tagging programs, including the use of GPS tracking systems, while $2 million will go into a research fund over four years.

Tim welcomed the research funding.

"If we want to reduce fear of swimming at our beaches, then we need to engage in research and education, not in killing with no purpose," he said. "For example, we need to explain the times of year that are most dangerous because of oceanic events that attract large sharks to feed near shore, for example when snapper are spawning in Cockburn Sound."

University of WA, where researchers are developing shark attack deterrent wetsuits, also welcomed the research funding.

The government also pledged $200,000 for a feasibility study and trial of a beach enclosure to protect swimmers, $500,000 for extra jet skis for Surf Lifesaving WA, and $150,000 for community awareness programs, including a smartphone application.

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Comments 7

Detlef

28 Sep 2012

Send Colin Barnett into the water to do then, so easy to make a decision from behind a desk... we go into the water for fun and our enjoyment its been a great whites home for millions of years, does this is mean that if a bronze whaler or a bull shark is responsible for an attack should they be killed aswell, its their territory leave them alone we risk our own lives by going into the water. Report
Kathryn

28 Sep 2012

Cull the Great White Shark...I just hope this is added just to get peoples attention, not actually said by The Western Australian Government..
Every Creature, every being has a home, an intruder into the safety of these homes need to be dealt with appropiately. With this particular situatiion, if anyone enters the home of The Great White Shark, they are the ones taking the risk.
COMMON SENCE is only two words but so many people don't know it exists or simply lack it.
Long Live The Great White Shark. Report
Victoria

28 Sep 2012

Western Australia my god so we are going to kill sharks now just because they are swimming past. You are in THEIR WATERS get out. For god sakes we are going backwards. 5 have been killed in 12months , there are more people killed on the roads every day should we kill a car just because it is driving past. This is life *****happens and it very sad but you can not take an eye for a eye Report
Ernst

28 Sep 2012

I applaud Colin Barnett for supporting research to combat shark attacks. Unfortunately the STUPIDITY to enforce shark culling can not be applauded. It is moronic decisions like that that prevent future generations from seeing and appreciating magnificent animals like this.

As previous comments have already stated we enter their waters at our own risk and most of us accept that risk.

My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones to sharks but it's a fact of life. Again as previous post have said, more people die on the road in a day than die of shark attacks in a year. Do we go out and cull the drivers causing death. No.

Sharks aren't the problem, it's the human lifestyle and over population. Report
Matthew

29 Sep 2012

It is not the sharks fault. It is there natural instinct to feed. I mean I feel extremely sorry to the family of the victims, but you look at the attacks and you find that they are attacked when it is known that sharks are most active. So you can't kill them because people don't know the facts. Report
Neil

02 Oct 2012

Without the Apex predators and a healthy ocean, the world as we know it can never be the same again. we must plan to save our oceans and the future for all of our generations to follow.
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-killing-our-...
I have started a petition to see if the public feel the same way about protecting these magnicifent and much needed predator. Please join me. Show your support and lets make our combined voices heard. Report
Joan

02 Oct 2012

Worth noting that Great White Sharks are listed under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as vulnerable and migratory, under WA legislation as rare or likely to become extinct, protected under the Fisheries Resources Management Act 1994, and vulnerable under IUCN (http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/publi... The Great White Shark is uncommon compared to other sharks and declining. If Colin Barnett is indeed mad enough to attempt this sensseless slaughter, the West Australian Government surely must refer it to the Australian Government for evaluation as a Controlled Action. Hopefully Tony Burke will say no. Report