Killing innocent sharks not cure for beach attacks – marine experts

AUSTRALIA

MARINE experts have slammed plans to kill sharks that pose a threat to West Australian beachgoers, saying it is a knee-jerk reaction and there is no evidence it will make beaches safer.

The West Australian government has announced it would spend almost A$7m more on preventing shark attacks, including $2 million on killing sharks deemed a threat to beachgoers.

Tim Nichol, from the Conservation Council of WA, said although he welcomed the increase in funding for combating shark attacks, killing them was not the answer.

‘‘There is no evidence to suggest that killing sharks will make people any safer. This is putting a guilty tag on sharks when they are innocent.

‘‘Keeping people safe is obviously very important, but they live in the ocean and we have always known that they live in the ocean,’’ he said.

Shark researcher Christopher Neff, at the University of Sydney, said the move to kill sharks was a step backward that would have implications for scientists across the world.

‘‘It’s a Hollywood response and an reaction,’’ he said.

‘‘Any scientist that tags a shark in another part of the world runs a risk of losing their data when it passes WA.

‘‘They should be studying the conditions and the environment that bring sharks closer to beaches. There is no evidence to suggest this will even work,’’ he said.

‘‘They should be looking at what will actually reduce the risk of shark attacks, not just boosting public confidence.’’

Tooni Mahto, marine campaigner from the Australian Marine Conservation Society, praised the state government’s increase in funding, but said the decision to pre-emptively kill sharks was a ‘‘knee-jerk reaction’’.

‘‘If the beaches have been evacuated and people cleared from the water then how can a shark still be a threat? It’s a knee-jerk reaction that does not sit well alongside the research of a protected species,’’ she said.

Premier Colin Barnett yesterday announced a change in safety measures that would see protected great white sharks killed if they were judged to be a threat to people on nearby beaches.

‘‘If a great white is seen to be in close proximity to the beach near swimmers and is judged to pose a threat then that shark can be tracked, can be caught and can be destroyed – and that is a significant change in policy,” he said.

Barnett said the state government was adding almost $7 million to their $13.65 million shark mitigation package that was announced last year.

extreme