Australian Shark Cull
After a string of shark attacks resulting in several fatalities, Australia has introduced a ‘catch-and-kill’ policy in order to rid Western Australia’s beaches of larger bull, tiger, and great white sharks. Baited drum lines with hooks are catching sharks along the coast of popular beaches, and sharks greater than three meters are being shot. Although only the bigger sharks are killed some of the ones undersize still perish on the hooks before they can be released. In 2012 these drum lines were labeled as ineffective in reducing shark bites, however hunters are still using this method despite those reports. Thus far the majority of the sharks caught have been tiger sharks. Great white sharks are recognized as endangered, but they are still on this list of targeted species. Ironically, the Australian government recently fined a man approximately $18,000 for killing a juvenile great white.
There have been six shark attacks in the past two years, a low number in comparison to the average of 12.3 per year. One of the November attacks ended in the tragic death of a young boogie boarder named Kyle Burden. The mother of Burden has been working with Sea Shepherd to get a Supreme Court injunction that will stop the mitigation program. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit organization which has been successful in limiting Japanese whaling as well as reduce poaching in the Galapagos and Guatemala. Protests with thousands of people against the cull have also sprung up in cities across the country including in Sydney, Queensland, Perth and Adelaide.
A large part of Australia’s economy depends on tourism, totaling 2.8% of their GDP this past year. The government’s main goal in this process is to make the beaches safer, yet in actuality this practice is simply cruel and unnecessary. A similar cull that was carried out in Hawaii showed that although shark populations were reduced, shark attack numbers stayed the same. There are even other alternatives to killing such as using shark shields. In the end, it is important to remember the swimmers and surfers are in the shark’s territory, not the other way around. There is hope that this solution will be halted in Fall when the number of beach-goers declines.
Information used form these sites:
http://www.voanews.com/content/australians-protest-shark-culls/1842306.html
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/23/western-australia-shark-cull-great-whites