Shark attacks in the Whitsundays: Divided lines in debate on predators v people
THE shark culling debate is getting heated following the latest attack. Peter Gleeson believes sharks are “prowling” the waters intent on attacking us, while Jane Fynes-Clinton says there is no scientific evidence that killing sharks as retribution makes us any safer.
Opinion
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MONDAY’S fatal Whitsundays shark attack has once again raised the issue of how to tackle the problem of attacks in Queensland waters. Peter Gleeson says not culling sharks is “pandering to the sensibilities of people who have no sense”, but Jane Fynes-Clinton says dropping drumlines willy-nilly and killing more sharks does not make us safer.
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WE CAN’T PUT HUMAN LIVES AT RISK WHILE SHARKS ARE PROWLING THE WATER
THIS madness must stop.
It’s time we put humans before sharks at one of our greatest tourism jewels.
How ridiculous that after three savage shark attacks in the Whitsundays in the past seven weeks – one fatal – that the Palaszczuk Government last night quickly ruled out drumlines and nets to protect swimmers at Cid Harbour.
What will the next Tourism Queensland campaign be for the Whitsundays?
Come to one of the most magical places on Earth, with beautiful beaches and wonderful aquatic pleasures ... oh, but just don’t swim or snorkel while you’re there.
Extraordinary. Why would any government with sophisticated shark-protection measures available not deploy those resources to stop humans being killed?
Since 1961, drumlines and nets have safeguarded swimmers at one of the world’s most populous coastlines between Coolangatta and Narrowneck on the Gold Coast.
There have been no fatal shark attacks along that coastal strip in 56 years. Contrast that with the decision by the NSW Government not to install nets or drumlines between Ballina and Kingscliff in the state’s northern region.
In the past five years, there have been three fatalities and a dozen shark attacks in northern NSW.
If the Palaszczuk Government wants to be consistent, it should ban nets and drumlines on the Gold Coast.
Imagine the outcry if they did that and there were a spate of shark attacks – as inevitably there would be – at Australia’s tourism capital.
The drumline and nets debate has re-surfaced after 33-year-old Victorian urologist, Daniel Christidis, died yesterday from vicious wounds to his leg and wrist while swimming near a charter yacht that was moored close to where two shark attacks occurred within 24 hours in September.
Soon after the earlier attacks, drumlines were installed, and in that week, six sharks were caught including five tiger sharks and one black tip shark.
The Government says it is taking the advice of the local council and tourism authority who they say would prefer not to have drumlines and nets.
“Neither the local mayor, Andrew Willcox, marine authorities nor local tourism operators want to see drumlines redeployed,’’ said Tourism Minister Kate Jones.
“They want re-enforced messaging, and that’s what we are doing.’’
What a cop out. What arrant nonsense. These people are abrogating their responsibility to their constituents and people who visit the area.
When man-eating sharks are in the waters of a tropical paradise like the Whitsundays, every possible effort must go into stopping them attacking swimmers.
When Whitsundays tourism operators start to see their numbers decline, they should blame their local elected officials.
Minister Jones also said: “What we are hearing very clearly from the experts at DPI (the Department of Primary Industries), the people that are experts in this field, is that they don’t think that (drumlines) is a long term solution for the Whitsundays.
“We need to be mindful that this is their habitat and we need to make sure that when we are swimming in their habitat that we are mindful of the risks.”
How can drumlines and nets be a long-term solution for the Gold Coast – try 56 years – and not for the Whitsundays?
When families holiday in the Whitsundays, they want to know that authorities have done everything possible to safeguard themselves and their kids from the horror of a shark attack.
Not deploying drumlines and nets is akin to playing Russian roulette with people’s lives. It’s once again pandering to the sensibilities of people who have no sense.
EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO KEEPING SWIMMERS OUT OF THE WAY OF SHARKS
SHARK attacks ignite horror and fear unmatched by few other traumas.
The primal fear is rooted in fact, including attacks such as two in September and the fatal one on Monday night in the Whitsundays.
Historically, after such incidents, humans go on a shark hunt, killing as many “monsters” as they can.
They do it reactively, even though there is no science to back the idea that killing many as retribution for one absolutely makes swimmers any safer.
It is base, primitive and likely to surpass pointlessness because it spills more blood simply for killing’s sake.
And shame on those who have used the horrific death of the 33-year-old Victorian man for political grandstanding.
Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan – of the LNP – is getting plenty of airplay out of the issue, even conducting interviews from trackside at Flemington yesterday to say how appalled he was that Government removed the drumlines they temporarily installed at Cid Harbour in the wake of the September attacks.
Surely he is sticking his nose in a corner where he has no business being in given it is more a matter of science and environmental management than politics.
Costigan’s contention that the Government has blood on its hands is inflammatory and ungrounded.
And surely any reaction to the death is a case of more haste less speed, because the public wants to be safer, not just be told they are.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Department are surely best positioned to decide if and when to take action, given they are the keepers of the watch over our aquatic playgrounds.
They run the shark control program across 85 Queensland beaches, and because there had been only one fatality at a controlled beach since the system was put in place in 1962, they deemed it a success.
Counting the absence of attacks seems like a peculiar science, and the shark-control program in Queensland remains controversial because opponents see it as akin to using a sledgehammer to secure a thumbtack.
Last year, official figures showed 510 sharks were caught in the nets and on drumlines. The system aims for sharks of more than 2m, because these are deemed a danger to humans. While some were massive – a 5.25m tiger shark at Tannum Sands topped the haul – most of those caught did not measure anywhere near that long.
Last year, 136 non-targeted species were also caught, including whales, dolphins, rays and turtles.
Many of these died.
The use of shark nets and drumlines are controversial not just because of the killing that scientists and conservationists deem unnecessary, but because it is designed to give water lovers a sense of security – and that security is false and dangerous.
Even the current Agriculture and Fisheries Department official information says so, with its website declaring the shark-control program is not designed to provide a distinct barrier between sharks and humans.
A survey by Sea Shepherd in the wake of the September attacks found that most drumlines in some areas were left unbaited for days, making them the equivalent of dummy CCTV cameras.
A duality of focus is needed to include humans and sharks, surely.
People can do more to help themselves.
In the case of Cid Harbour, where all three recent attacks have taken place, surely it is far better to emphasise information distribution to visitors, passing on what the locals know to be true: the area is an unsafe no-go zone for swimming.
And whenever we enter the ocean anywhere, but particularly in an unwatched area, humans must be aware of their guest status.
Science shows that swimming at dusk is more risky. Two of those attacked were in the water in the late afternoon.
Dropping drumlines willy-nilly and killing more sharks does not make us safer.
Taking greater personal responsibility, propagating greater awareness and heeding the warnings and decisions of scientists just might.
Dr Jane Fynes-Clinton is a surfer, journalist and journalism lecturer, Twitter @janefynes
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