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On behalf of the Australian Alliance, our sincerest condolences go out to the families and friends of Zac Young and Chris Boyd, both recent deaths caused by shark bites. Zac was body boarding with three friends about 100 metres off shore at Riecks Point, The Well near Coffs Harbour when he was bitten on the legs by a shark, type unidentified. After struggling and managing to break free, friends took him onto shore and bystanders attempted to assist in saving his life before the paramedics arrived and announced him dead. No information on the type of shark involved. He had received Cardiac arrest and severe injuries on his legs.
Chris Boyd was surfing at Umbies Break, off Gracetown, roughly 270 kilometers from Perth. He was bitten by a shark also unidentified, and found dead by the time he was taken to the beach. It is especially difficult to console those who have lost loved ones in such an abrupt and confronting manner. Unfortunately, these are the risks taken when any person of any height or age step into the ocean. There are no immediate steps that can be taken to justify these deaths.
A "targeted, localized shark mitigation strategy" softly put by WA fisheries minister Troy Buswell, which in more correct terms is a targeted funded culling of sharks is not the solution. The proposed "solution" involves the combination of shark drum lines deployed 24 hours a day for several months along with the payment of professional fishermen to track, catch and kill any shark that is in with a close proximity of beach goers. Drum lines are a baited line attached to a floating drum designed to kill any shark that is caught. Even though the Minister of Fisheries clearly states numerously that this is not a cull, the definition of a cull is "the reduction of the size of an animal population", by definition this strategy is most certainly a cull.
Why is this an issue? These methods kill sharks indiscriminately, which puts the Great White Shark under the same target. These are slow growing, late maturing animals that produce few offspring, which makes it extremely difficult for them as a species to recover from various methods of exploitation. Not only are Great White Sharks an endangered species, with an estimate of between 3 and 5,000 left in the world, they are identified as an apex predator. An apex predator is on top of the food chain, and a crucial part of the Eco system that is at serious risk of being in jeopardy when looking at targeting mass numbers of specific animals. Drumlines have a risk of catching species other than the proposed target, turtles, cetaceans (e.g. dolphins), rays and dugongs are all at threat of being caught. In other countries previous attempts to cull sharks, have been proven ineffective in decreasing shark bites.
During the latter half of the twentieth century, shark culling was carried out in an attempt to make the waters of Hawaii safer. From 1959 to 1976, the state of Hawaii culled 4,668 sharks (at an average cost of $182 per shark), including 554 tiger sharks, in a series of shark control programs. In spite of such efforts no significant decrease in rate of shark attacks was ever detected (Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Hawaii University)
So what can we do? There are a number of methods you can implement to reduce personal risk of a shark bite. Do not buy into the hysteria grown and caused by the Medias focus on shark bites, be informed. In NSW, if you find a brown snake in your backyard, law states you call someone to remove and relocate it, not kill it. The same method applies to crocodiles, protected in Western Australia from 1969 and from Northern Territory in 1971. Stinger suits are often mandatory in swims on the Great Barrier Reef. Methods of lowering the risk of Shark bites include the following:
1. Do not go swimming in a beach where a shark has been sighted recently.
2. Do not go swimming far out of shore, stay about 30 meters close to shore.
3. Stay in groups when going into the water, don't go out on your own.
4. Avoid water temperatures lower than 22 degrees.
5. Avoid water depths greater than 5 m when swimming or surfing.
6. Avoid swimming after heavy storms, Or in low light conditions such as dusk or dawn. (
https://www.facebook.com/supportoursharks)
We as an Australian Alliance do not support the cull of sharks, and will be joining all Australians against the issue to take a stand, at a national rally. In South Australia we will be attending the rally at Glenelg, 4th January at 12.30 pm. We will be dressed as required in Blue and white to form a uniting. To see where your rally is located, please go to the following link.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151815157808365&set=gm.754647544562957&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
We support conservation, not hysteria.
Emma Dawson-Spencer, Australian Alliance Animal Welfare Spokesperson/Coordinator,
