Attitude change to attacks
ANOTHER shark attack on the far north coast of NSW in the Byron Bay and Ballina region has sent shockwaves through that surfing community.
It appears the 17-year-old, enjoying the first day of the school holidays, is going to be OK. And it also sounds like he is extremely lucky because the bite marks into his surfboard were severe and those of a large white pointer.
I’ve noticed in that particular region there is a decline in sympathy for the shark. When attacks were rare, the message was loud and clear that this was a freak accident, a mistake by the shark. The shark was in its domain and it was a freak occurrence.
But reading surf website blogs recently, I sense a mood change — relocating the animal, even killing the shark are opinions that are gaining strength.
I know environmentalists would be horrified with such views, but surfers are just as horrified at the thought of more attacks in these areas.
The old theory of it being an extremely unlikely situation, particularly in these areas, doesn’t stack up any longer.
This particular region hosts some of the best, most diverse and consistent surf in the world: The world class surf breaks, to name just some, include Byron Bay Wreck, The Pass, Tallows, Broken Head, Lennox Head and North and South Wall Ballina. The surfing and tourism populations are massive and they are searching for a solution to what is becoming a serious problem.
I hope they find some answers soon.
To better news on Surf Coast, locals India Robinson had a fantastic result on the international stage placing second in the World Juniors in the Azores Islands near Portugal earlier this week and Ethan Huxtable also excelled at the national level winning the under 12 NSW division of the prestigious Rip Curl Grom Search.
Four-day Surf Forecast:
Those school holiday kids who chose to stay at home on the Surfcoast probably made a good choice, with lots of great waves and clean conditions over the past two weeks. The week ahead looks good with continued clean winds and small to medium-sized waves through to Sunday and then possible bigger clean conditions into next week.