Shark Safety

[Andrew Fogarty]

I was dropped of at Turrum reef in the Swains group ( 120 mile east of Qld) to do a shell count when collecting Trocsus shell commercially. No boat just me and the ocean, the main boat was 30 mile way and the tide was making. The thing is i knew I had made a pore decision when i had swam for two hours and no pickup. By this time it was almost sunset with 3/4 to high, swells pushing over the reef and bronzies from 3 to 5 ft congregating around me in numbers. Just as the sun halved the horizon a dory arrived to pick me up and literally saved me from being the evening meal. Experience was not any consolation to me. From this point in time I have respected the ocean to the level it deserves.

 

[Danny.c]

Sharks act very aggressive that late for sure, you don't see it as much down my way,but up north on the reefs,I have seen them hunting in packs in 3 ft of water,low tide in little bays,rounding up the bait.It is a great scene,from the safety of a boat .Yeh that would not have been one of your best decisions.Crazy North Qlder

 

[Brad]

GWS are not a treatened or vulnerable species. If they were ever threatened or vulnerable 20 years ago, when they recieved protection, their numbers could never have been able to explode to the current levels of abundance. Think about this? the science was biased! They were never in threat even at the levels of relative abundance in the 80's , if they were they could not have increased to a relative abundance which is ten fold from then so quickly. We now need to work out a sustainable level/abundance of GWS which sees them here for perpetuity & at the same time balances the level of risk & percieved value of the shark to public perception. ATM protectionist conservation is failing GWS, because when they can kill with impunity thier conservation value soon fades.

The only significant threat to the specie is human predation as confirmed by the increase in numbers after they were legally protected. All legal protections for the GW does, is eliminate that one un-natural cause of mortality--the rest is up to nature.. Let us not punish the specie because we can't figure out how to deal with the ramifications of past mistakes... They only try to survive in an adulterated environment due to no fault of their own...

 

[sharkey]

The idea that we leave them alone & everything will be all right is utopian. Unfortunatly as a species we have "artificialised" every eco system to some degree. Protectionist conservation has been an abject failure in preventing the loss of bio diversity, it most often results in a torrent of ecological change, rather than slowing or preventing it.

What needs to be done is for management plans put in place that ensures the continual survival of this species, & minimising conflict & the ensuing deamonisation of GWS. We know now that the population before the protection was not endangered, if it was, the population could not have erupted like it has. A sensible approach would to be double that number.

At what level of abundance/conflict would the current anti cull proponents ever consider a cull of GWS necessary?

 

[Danny.c]

This subject is a tough one.I am sitting on the fence and agreeing with all that is said,deep down I feel that maybe we could kill a few GW an thin them out a little.The sightings are so common around my area but I am not really in a GW zone,but there here!there every were now.We do play a part in nature because we are the ones shaping it now.Maybe Sharky is right.

 

[Andrew Fogarty]

Queensland beaches have been netted and drum lined for decades. https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/fisherie...program/shark-control-equipment-and-locations. The anti lobby site the high numbers of other marine life killed by these apparatus which is difficult to ignore by a fare minded person. There seems to be a large cohort of juvenile Great Whites in northern New South Wales which is no is doubt a result of high survival rates/birth rates in recent years. The future of the species is assured and a cap on the population would be a logical step in marine ecosystem "sharing" between us and them.

 

[Danny.c]

After working on Trawlers as young kid.shark drums really don't matter.I have seen 1000's of tons of marine habitat completely destroyed and that is just one day on a boat.Trawlers are the king's of destruction.It would make many of you sick in the guts to see it.
Thanks for that link Andrew,good to know.

 

[sharkey]

I must say this has been a really well balanced discussion guys. I look forward to dissagreeing with you in the future. (Not really, my bad. lol). Once again a great forum & well moderated to every one involved.

 

[Danny.c]

I must say this has been a really well balanced discussion guys. I look forward to dissagreeing with you in the future. (Not really, my bad. lol). Once again a great forum & well moderated to every one involved.

Very well said