Justine’s first words to husband after Whitsundays shark attack

SHARK attack victim Justine Barwick has spoken to her husband for the first time after she was mauled in the Whitsundays last week. It comes as two more sharks were caught on a drumline today and swimmers warned to stay out of the water.

Justine Barwick.

SHARK attack victim Justine Barwick has spoken to her husband Craig for the first time after she was mauled in the Whitsundays. It comes as two more sharks were caught on a drum line today.

Ms Barwick was attacked by a shark in Cid Harbour at Whitsunday Island, just north of Hamilton Island, on Wednesday afternoon.

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Melbourne schoolgirl Hannah Papps, 12, was attacked in the same area less than 24 hours later. She is now in a serious but stable condition.

Fisheries this afternoon confirmed a 3.7m tiger shark and a 1.2m black tip shark were caught on a drumline at Cid Harbour today. They were killed, taking the total number of sharks caught on the drumlines to six.

“The message is these waters are not safe for swimming,” a statement from the department of Agriculture and Fisheries said.

“During this holiday period, we urge people to exercise caution, stay out of the water and not throw food scraps overboard from boats.”

Ms Barwick has undergone surgery to her leg and is in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Justine Barwick.

Hannah Papps.

Today Mr Barwick said it was the first time he had spoken to his wife since she was winched into the RACQ Central Queensland rescue helicopter after the attack.

“In typical Justine fashion her first words to me were ‘sorry I have caused so much trouble’ and she is asking after the welfare of family and friends,” Mr Barwick said.

In relation to the State Government Fisheries department catching tiger sharks and killing them in response to the attacks at Cid Harbour, Mr Barwick said the attacks in the Whitsundays were “particularly personal to me and my family”.

“The reaction by the Queensland Government setting drumlines and culling sharks is understandable and in some ways I appreciate it,” he said.

A Shark is caught on a drumline in the Cid Harbour.

“However we have to understand that while there have been two attacks in rapid succession, shark attacks are rare and sharks play an important role in the ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef.”

Mr Barwick said while the family was grateful for offers to help raise funds for his wife’s recovery, he said it was not required.

The family’s news came after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk defended the Fisheries Department’s use of drumlines in Cid Harbour.

Shark attack victim Justine Barwick was flown to Brisbane for extensive surgery. Picture: AAP/David Clark

Drumlines are now being used in the area.

Ms Palaszczuk said the decision was based on expert advice, with the lines set to remain in the harbour until it was deemed safe.

“Can you imagine the public outcry if anything else happened there in that particular region during school holidays if the Department of Fisheries took no action?” she said.

“I’m very comfortable listening to that expert advice.”

She said she was comfortable with the action taken, which the opposition Liberal National Party also agrees was the right move.

A spokeswoman for Ms Palaszczuk said that contrary to media reports, the Government was not considering an alert system, but people are being warned against swimming at Cid Harbour.

Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said they were using the drumlines to protect human life and insists shark nets and baited hooks first installed at Queensland beaches in 1962 have “undoubtedly” saved lives.

“We’ll continue that process until we assess the outcome,” he said.

“I think life is paramount over any other issue.”

He did not directly address questions about why they were killing sharks in Cid Harbour despite admitting they will never know if they caused the injuries.

“We’re not culling sharks, we’re protecting the public,” he said.

Humane Society International and Sea Shepherd Australia said baiting and killing sharks gives people a false sense of security.

“Baited drumlines targeting sharks in the area will do nothing to prevent further accidents,” Sea Shepherd’s Jonathan Clark said on Sunday.

“Stop the nonsense about speaking of ‘effectiveness’ only in terms of their ability to kill sharks.

“That bit is easy and it’s lazy policy. Making beaches actually safer is much harder and unrelated to their ability to kill sharks.”