Australia squares off over sharks
Cull suggested after 14th human death since 2012
SYDNEY • The death last week of Laeticia Brouwer, a 17-year-old surfer, in a shark attack off Australia’s southern coast has renewed debate in the country over what, if anything, should be done to protect people who venture offshore in a place mad for watersports. Fourteen people have been killed by sharks nationwide since the start of 2012.
Last week, the federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, accused Western Australia, the state where the last three fatal attacks occurred, of failing to respond to the problem. “The commonwealth would welcome any proposal to protect human life first and foremost,” he said, suggesting culling or other measures as the state saw fit.
Vic Hislop, a former shark hunter from Queensland, called for helicopter strike teams in an interview with News. com. au, warning, “As they continue to let the sharks escape after they eat somebody, it’s going to get worse and worse. Make no mistake.”
But Western Australia denies that killing sharks would be productive. Last week, the state fisheries minister, Dave Kelly, said that culling did not “actually make our beaches any safer.” And its premier, Mark McGowan, said people would always face a very small risk of being attacked in the ocean, calling it a “harsh reality.”
Culling is controversial because many shark species are endangered: Perhaps 100 million sharks are killed every year, often for their fins. Hunting of vulnerable types, including the Great White Shark, is prohibited, yet states can seek exemptions if they think attacks are threatening people or tourism revenue.
Experts testifying at a federal Senate hearing in Perth last week said that more research into individual deterrents was required.
States and territories already pour millions of dollars into helicopters and drones to keep watch for predators, although they can only spot those swimming close to the surface. Other technologies are evolving, said Nathan Hart, an associate professor of biological sciences at Macquarie University. He cited early research into camouflaged wet suits and “counter- illumination” surfboards, whose undersides emit l i ght to diminish their silhouette.
New South Wales is testing smart drum lines that send alerts to officials, allowing animals to be tagged, towed and released in deeper waters. Scientists using this method in Brazil reported a 97 per cent decline in bites in the deadly waters off Recife, at the country’s eastern tip.