Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So, what do y'all reckon of the latest greatest decision by our leader? Probably one of the most under thought knee jerk useless things I've seen a politician do (lately)


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Thats what politicians do. Like the stopping of the live beef exports to Indonesia because of one four corners story WTF

Yep fully agree Freoboy, what a total *sigh* and a complete embarrassment for the rest of us .

I know quite a few mad keen surfers and they are dead against it.

I'm sure many of us would rather support some form of politician culling program, preferably one that feeds them to the sharks.

Absolute crap.... You don't like the sharks, stay out of the water.

I think they should put drum lines out, catch as many Whites as they can, put a satellite tracker on them, as they've done with a few to date, then release them... and do it on an ongoing basis.

I firmly believe all the attacks, and near attacks (boats circled, motor legs chomped etc as shown on news occasionally) are all one rogue big white that isn't afraid/unsure of us humans anymore.

Until just over a decade ago fatal shark attacks were as rare as rocking horse sh!t in WA. If you followed the attacks of recent years, they move up and down the coast at certain times of year, just like a shark would, and at the same time of year. Especially last year when we had three deaths and a number incidents reported... they were in a pattern. First was Gracetown, shortly afterwards it was Dunsborough, then Rockingham, then Cottesloe, then Rottnest... all within a short period of time... a shark on it's annual migration.

...and I believe it's since the d--kheads at the Cottosloe city council decided to bury a whale right there on the beach... which would've been seeping whale oil and other flavoursome goodness into the water for years, maybe still is. There's been two people killed at Cott since they buried it, the first was only a year after from memory.

I think initially the whale has attracted a hungry great white, which was frustrated at not being able to find the whale, so munched the nearest thing, a swimmer, then it's realised that while maybe not as tasty as whale or sea lion, we are a much easier meal.

Long story short, if they catch and tag as many as possible, then the unthinkable happens again and one of them takes someone, they'll be able to tell which one, follow and catch it... then ventilate it!... and I wouldn't mind betting the incidents of shark attack would drop dramatically or cease.

They've tagged 13 sharks so far, and do you know how many listening stations they've put in along the WA coastline to pick up signals (and create alerts) from the tagged sharks? TWO !! Awesome effort !! Why bother tagging with radio tags at all ?

Still, with Buswell as Fisheries Minister (frack knows why), he should be able to "sniff" 'em out !!


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isn't Baston now the Fisheries minister?

cows kill more people per annum than sharks. Do we see a cow-cull? Nope... Mr Damage, you're partially correct, Great White's do migrate closer to the coast in warmer months but this has been occurring long before Cott Council gave Nemo a grave with a view. It coincides with the movement of schools of bait (sardines and the like) that chase the water currents and their food closer to the coast. Where the small fish are, the big fish will follow.

Knee jerk reaction from the government, absolutely. Is it needed? Nope. White's are still vulnerable from over-exploitation in the past. What they do to us is far less than what we continue to do to them.

My point exactly... the Great Whites have always migrated up the coast every Spring/Summer... but the amount of attacks and incidents have increased dramatically since the whale was buried. Two of the fatal attacks have been at the very beach where it was buried, from memory the first only about a year after.

There's about 80-100k's of swimming beaches along the Mandurah, Rockingham, Perth coastal strip, with tens of thousands of people in the water every day over the warmer months... but the two fatal attacks that have happened on this 100k stretch of swimming beaches in recent history have happened at the very spot the whale was buried. Plus all the attacks/incidents happen in a pattern every year... such as one rogue shark moving up the coast. One shark that was first lured close into a heavily populated beach by the smell of dead whale and now makes the return trip up the coast to that same beach every year... it's burned into its memory... and it no longer fears humans.

We will never be able to stop shark attacks, but as I've made clear, my opinion is that this recent dramatic increase in fatal attacks is caused by one rogue shark... giving all his mates a bad name... catch them, tag them, track them, determine which one is doing this, kill it.

I thought the drum lines normally killed the sharks as they can't swim to get water over their gills?

mattyoga, thats correct - if a shark stops swimming it will quickly drown.

Mr Damage, its only my opinion but i highly doubt that its one rogue shark involved in the several deaths. Unfortunately for us, most of the deaths have resulted from sharks curiosity rather than full blown feeding behaviour. Sharks 'test' things with their mouths and noses, hence why they are known to 'bite' outboard motor legs - its not trying to eat it, its seeing what it is. Unfortunately for us, being the soft critters we are, we dont weather such curiosity well. That said, that is why we tend to see more shark 'attack' victims with primarily soft tissue injuries than missing limbs

Media certainly doesn't help things... I noticed over the past 24 hours or so one station keeps repeating a statement from a guy who knew one of the victims in their adverts.. "How many mates are going to get killed before someone does something about it?"

Media loves to sensationalise...

That's not entirely correct... of the hundreds of shark species there are only a handful, about 15 I think, that are obligate ram breathers... meaning they must keep moving because don't have the ability to draw water through their gills. Of this handful, Great Whites are one, so you are correct in saying that, but a shark on a drum line can still swim around.

sorry yes you are correct

I meant (but didnt specifically say) Great Whites

On another note.... sharks are very tasty