cynicismcentral.org - TOWNSVILLE AUSTRALIA

Some more interesting links:

“National Geographic News” Article on the rift between shark netting and drumline states and those that argue against it :
“Sharks Kill Surfer, Reigniting Net Debate in Australia”
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0128_050128_sharknets.html

Oceania Chondrichthyan Society
www.oceaniasharks.org.au

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=epa+qld+bull+sharks&meta=

[Greens-Media] Shark hysteria obscures the facts about beach meshing‏
From: media-bounces [at] lists [dot] greens [dot] org [dot] au on behalf of Catherine Coorey (Catherine [dot] Coorey [at] parliament [dot] nsw [dot] gov [dot] au)
Sent: Monday, 2 March 2009 3:48:13 AM
To: media [at] lists [dot] greens [dot] org [dot] au

Ian Cohen MLC. Media Release. 2 March 2009.Shark hysteria obscures the facts about beach meshing

“Hysteria surrounding the recent shark attacks in Sydney and thecontinual circulating of myths and incorrect information isirresponsible”, says NSW Greens MLC Ian Cohen.

“As a surfer myself,I have the utmost concern for the victims of the recent attacks andappreciate the gravity of their injuries.”

“However, despite the scare-mongering, the reality is that sharkpopulations are still in decline and that meshing our beaches is at bestuseless in protecting swimmers from sharks and at worst is killing alarge number of harmless and endangered marine animals.”

“Both Bondi and Avalon, where the two beach attacks took place, aremeshed beaches; further proof that the meshing of NSW’s beaches is awaste of time and only serves to kill many other marine species that arenot dangerous to humans. It should be noted that of the sharks thathave been caught in the netting, more that 30% per cent are on the beachside of the net,” says Ian Cohen.

“Minister for Primary Industries Ian McDonald continues to defend theshark meshing system which has been in place since the 1930s when therun-off from Homebush abattoir spilled into Malabar. There is no proofthat the meshing system has prevented a single shark attack since thattime. Mr McDonald should acknowledge that the meshing system serves nopurpose but to give the people of NSW a sense of security — securitythat these two recent attacks have shown to be false.”

“On Sydney’s beaches and in the harbour the increase in thepopulation and the increase in tourist populations compared with thenumber of attacks recorded shows the risk of shark attack fatality hasactually decreased over the last three decades. You are far more likelyto be die in your car on the way to the beach”, says Ian Cohen,“and, as these recent attacks prove, there are no guarantees that meshing will save you from a shark attack.”

“I call on Ian McDonald to abandon meshing our beaches and look atalternatives. Electronic shark repellent technology, life guard observation and increased use of Coastwatch observation flights –which the Government has scaled down – could better protect bothswimmers and marine species.”

“The nets do not extend across the whole beach or from the oceanfloor to the water’s surface. There are large gaps between the watersurface and the top of the net that would allow most sharks to avoid capture. The nets are more about creating a perception of safety than protecting swimmers.”

“The Australian Shark Attack File, maintained by Taronga Zoo, showsthat in the last 50 years there have been only 56 human fatalities (1.12per year) in Australian waters from shark attack. Given the hundreds ofthousands of people who swim at our beaches, harbours and rivers, thisis a very small number. The greatest threats to beachgoers are hazardousrips, treacherous surf and skin cancer."

More information: Catherine Coorey 0402 315 345 or Ian Cohen: 0409 989466 Catherine CooreyMedia Advisor to Ian Cohen MLCThe GreensNSW Parliament

'No evidence' of more sharks in NSW
12:56 AEST Sun Feb 15 2009
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/752302/no-evidence-of-more-sharks-in...

There is no evidence of increased shark numbers in NSW despite cleaner waterways around Sydney, NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt says.

NSW shark fishermen are regularly hauling up to 100 sharks per night but they will be banned from hunting sharks until July due to new fishing quotas imposed by the state government, News Limited reports.

The claim comes as a navy diver and a surfer recover in hospital from separate savage shark attacks in Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach last week.

Ms Tebbutt confirmed Sydney Harbour was less polluted now than it was two years ago, but declined to link the cleaner waters to greater shark numbers.

"Our waterways in general are much cleaner. We know there are more fish in the harbour because commercial fishing hasn't been allowed since we had the dioxin issues. So, there is a view that the greater number of fish in the harbour may mean that more sharks are coming into the harbour," Ms Tebbutt told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"There's no evidence that there's an increase in shark numbers in general in NSW but it's something that the minister for primary industries and fisheries (Ian Macdonald) is looking at very closely."

She said the government needed to be "guided by the science" in relation to shark issues.

Environmentalist and Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan said fish numbers were increasing with the ban on fishing in Sydney Harbour.

"Sharks have always been here, you've only got to go back to the Aboriginal history of the colony," Mr Kiernan said.

"It is their territory."

However, he said, beachgoers needed to take responsibility for their actions in the water.

"The irresponsibility of surfing at dawn or dusk is that you're asking for trouble."

Northern Times (Bribie Island area)

Shark warning for swimmers
by Glenn Roberts
http://northern-times.whereilive.com.au/news/story/shark-warning-for-swi...

SWIMMERS are being warned sharks could be attracted to Woorim Beach by sand dredging, which is due to start this month.
A Primary Industries and Fisheries Department spokesman said sharks fed on the bait fish which were drawn to the murky water created by dredging.
``If people are swimming there they should exercise more caution,’’ the spokesman said.
The sharks most likely to be attracted were whaler species and tiger sharks.
The warning comes just before the 18 drum lines (baited hooks) which protect the beach are due to be moved to allow the pumping of sand on to the beach.
They will be shifted north and south of their current positions from January 27 to about February 13.
``It probably won’t mean a great deal of difference (to the protection given),’’ the spokesman said.
Statistics released this week showed the largest shark captured in shark control equipment off the Sunshine Coast in 2008 was a 4m sandbar whaler caught off Bribie Island.
It was among 79 sharks caught off the Sunshine Coast during the year; 25 more than in 2007.
Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said the wet conditions at the start of 2008 contributed to the increased catch as the sharks became more active chasing food flushed out by the rain.
“We would expect this bull shark population to continue to grow as the canal network on the Sunshine Coast continues to expand,’’ he said.
``The recent summer rainfall will mean the sharks will become more active in the murky waters as food sources move around.’’
Between 1997-98 and 2002-03 annual catches on the Sunshine Coast ranged from 102 to 144.
Since 2003-04 the catch has been between 29 and 87.

Tips for avoiding sharks:
- Do not swim or surf in murky waters.
- Swim or surf only at patrol led beaches and between the flags.
- Do not swim or surf after dusk, at night or before dawn.
- Do not swim in or near mouths of estuaries, artificial canals and lakes.
- Do not swim near schools of fish or where fish are being cleaned.
- Do not swim near or interfere with shark control equipment.
- Do not swim with animals.

Cross refernce www.cynicismcentral.org/node/53

Expert slams shark control
Townsville Bulletin
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/01/21/34011_news.html

DANIEL BATEMAN

January 21st, 2009

A NORTH Queensland scientist says the State Government's shark control program is a waste of time and money during stinger season.

Marine biologist and filmmaker Richard Fitzpatrick, whose documentary on shark conservation is premiering on the Discovery Channel on Sunday night, said control measures such as drumlines and netting were not necessary on the North's beaches as people did not swim at the beach.

"It's really not an issue for us up here in North Queensland, because we aren't in the water at all during summer, because of the box jellyfish," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

"This does beg the question, why do we have shark nets and shark control in North Queensland in the summer months?"

Shark netting unnecessarily threatened other marine animals during breeding season, he said.

"It is breeding time for lots of different animals besides sharks, like turtles, stingrays and all that kind of stuff," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

"I think it's just a waste of time and taxpayers' money having them out during stinger season."

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries' shark control program manager Tony Ham said the shark control measures were a necessary precaution for people who swam in the sea during stinger season.

"Lots of people who live in North Queensland actually take precautions against stingers," Mr Ham said.

"There are stinger suits available and people wear pantyhose and all that sort of stuff.

"A lot of those people swim outside of stinger enclosures.

"The Government's position is that while the stinger enclosures are there and they are great, not everybody makes that choice, and certainly we wouldn't be forcing anyone to make that choice.

"While people do swim outside of stinger enclosures, programs are necessary for their protection."

The DPIF removed shark nets from Magnetic Island in the late nineties, in response to the accidental catch of dugongs.

"Yes, we do occasionally have non-target species in nets," Mr Ham said.

"The Government's got some processes in place, with acoustics and alarms for dolphins and whales throughout the state, including the North. And we've got the hotline number for people reporting entangled animals."

Mr Fitzpatrick's documentary, Mysteries of the Shark Coast, used underwater animal cameras and remote cameras to record shark behaviour and gather new insight into the secretive life of sharks, and to discover the reasons behind a decline in shark populations.

"The sharks are being fished down at, if not the same, a higher rate than the fish are themselves," he said.

"We're reducing the entire oceanic food chain from the plankton to the whale.

"That whole idea of taking away the fish and leaving the sharks starving, and they're picking on humans is just ridiculous. We're fishing across the entire food chain, and sharks probably get hit more than anything else at the moment, at a higher rate."

Sharks, not humans, most at risk in ocean
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/17/2468318.htm

At risk: the shark population is declining. (farm1.static.flickr.com)
Three shark attacks in Australia in two days in the past week sparked a media frenzy, but sharks are more at risk in the ocean than people, with humans killing millions of sharks each year.

Sharks are the top of the marine food chain, a powerful predator which has no match in its watery realm, until humans enter the ocean.

Australia's Shark Research Institute says commercial fishing and a desire for Asian shark fin soup sees up to 100 million sharks, even protected endangered species of sharks, slaughtered around the world each year.

Yet in contrast, sharks do not seem to like the taste of humans. Very few shark attacks involve the shark actually eating the human, unlike a land-based predator like a lion or tiger.

The Shark Research Institute says on its website that most of the incidents in the Florida-based global shark attack file "have nothing to do with predation".

Unlike fat seals - the preferred meal of sharks like the great white - humans are bony with not much fat. Sharks use various sensors to hunt their prey and a quick bite will tell it whether it has found a good meal.

Usually when a shark bites a human it then swims off. Unfortunately for humans, sharks are big and people are small, so a large shark bite can mean death from rapid loss of blood.

"Sharks are opportunistic feeders. They hear us in the water, we sound like a thrashing fish or animal in the water, and they just react to that instinctively and go to take a bite," marine analyst Greg Pickering said on Wednesday.

Australia and Florida

According to the latest figures by the global shark attack file, there was only one fatal shark attack in 2007. It took place in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. The mean number of deaths between 2000 and 2007 was five a year.

"You have more chance of being killed driving to the beach," said John West, the curator of the Australian shark attack file at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

In fact, the number of fatal attacks around the world has been falling during the 20th century, due to advances in beach safety, medical treatment and public awareness of shark habitats.

The bulk of shark attacks do not happen in Australian waters, despite its shark reputation, but in North American waters. Half of the world's shark attacks occur in the United States, and one third of the world's attacks are in Florida waters.

In 2007, there were 50 shark attacks in US waters, compared with 13 in Australia in the same year. None were fatal.

The big difference between Florida and Australia is that Australia has much bigger sharks and therefore more fatal attacks. From 1990 to 2007, Australia had 19 fatal attacks, Florida only four.

The Australian shark attack file says there has been a total of 56 fatal shark attacks in Australia in the past 50 years, or an average of about one a year.

The last fatal attack occurred in December 2008, when a great white shark attacked a 51-year-old man while he was snorkelling off a beach south of Perth in Western Australia.

So, is it safe to go back in the water?

Shark attacks are on the rise worldwide, but according to the international shark attack file, that doesn't mean there is an increased rate of shark attacks.

The file on its website that as the world population increases and interest in aquatic recreation rises, "we realistically should expect increases in the number of shark attacks".

Sharks in decline

But while more humans enter the ocean each year and for longer periods of time, the shark population is declining, theoretically reducing the chances of a shark-human encounter.

"As a result, short-term trends in the number of shark attacks, up or down, must be viewed with caution," says the file.

So, if shark numbers are falling, why are there more sightings of sharks off Australia's beaches? Surfwatch Australia, which conducts aerial patrols of Sydney beaches, estimates shark sightings have risen 50 to 80 per cent in recent years.

Wildlife officials say cleaner beach water means sharks are chasing food closer to shore. Sydney beaches were closed this month when hammerheads started feeding on squid near swimmers.

But only about two dozen shark species are considered potentially dangerous to humans because of their size and teeth.

The great white, bull, tiger and hammerhead sharks are among the most aggressive and responsible for most attacks in Australia.

Great whites can grow to 5.5 metres in length, weigh up to 1,000 kilograms and have the biting power to lift a car.

Australian scientists have recorded the bite power of a 3.2-metre shark as equivalent to 1.5 tonnes of pressure.

The aggressive-looking grey nurse shark, with its piercing eyes, pointy nose and protruding teeth, is as timid as a cat and will only attack if provoked.

But its fierce appearance has seen it hunted to the point where it is now endangered and colonies of grey nurse sharks off Sydney are protected.

There are 30 sharks, including the great white, on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's threatened species list.

Australia's Nature Conservation Council has launched a 'Save Our Last Sharks' campaign.

"Sharks need our help now and we cannot let our fear push them to the brink of extinction," says the Council's Ben Birt.

- Reuters

NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NSW "SAVE OUR LAST SHARKS" CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
http://nccnsw.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=5...

Types of sharks killed in Qld program 97-08

http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au/queensland-by-theme/industry/agriculture-fore...