Mammoth sharks caught near Queensland tourist beaches
A MONSTER tiger shark the length of a minivan, great whites and giant hammerheads were among hundreds of predators caught close to tourist beaches in Queensland recently, new data shows. WHERE 10 BIGGEST WERE CAUGHT
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A MONSTER tiger shark the length of a minivan, great whites and giant hammerheads were among hundreds of predators caught close to tourist beaches.
The top 10 biggest sharks caught on drumlines or nets by the Queensland Shark Control Program in the past year were all near popular swimming and surfing spots.
As NSW moves to reduce protective measures off the state’s northern beaches, Queensland has boosted funding for safeguards.
New figures obtained by The Sunday Mail show 72 man-eaters were caught on the Sunshine Coast and 51 on the Gold Coast in 2017-18.
They were among 473 dangerous sharks — including tigers, bulls, great whites and hammerheads — caught along the coast, slightly fewer than the 489 in 2016-17.
SCROLL ACROSS “FEARSOME CATCHES” TO SEE 10 BIGGEST
These included a 3.81m tiger shark at Noosa Beach, a 3.95m great hammerhead at Tallebudgera, and a 4.1m tiger shark at Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island.
The largest was a 5.26m tiger shark at Tannum Sands south of Gladstone.
Only three great whites were caught in the 12-month period. They were 2.9m, 2.65m and 2.56m and were caught at Northcliffe, Rainbow Beach and Moffat Beach, respectively.
Fisheries Queensland Shark Control Program manager Jeff Krause said the State Government continued to support the program, with nets and drumlines at 85 beaches.
He said the Government had provided an extra $2.1 million over four years and an additional $731,000 per annum ongoing, taking total funding to $16.1 million over four years and $4.2 million per annum ongoing.
“Additional funding in the 2018-19 State Budget will be spread across all 10 contract locations to meet the increasing costs of the Shark Control Program,” he said.
The NSW Government is removing nets from its north coast after an outcry from locals.
It said up to 35 drumlines would remain between Lennox and Evans Head — a stretch affected by a series of shark attacks in recent years — in a two-year trial ending mid-2020.
Helicopters and drones would continue to monitor the coast on weekends and holidays, with nets remaining on beaches between Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong.
Experts say three of the 400 species of shark account for more than half of the attacks on humans: great white, tiger and bull sharks.
A fatal attack at Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island, in 2006 was the first at a protected beach since Queensland’s netting program was introduced in 1962.
It was initiated following two fatal attacks at Noosa and Mackay in 1961.
The state’s shark program has copped regular fire from environmental groups over concerns about non-target species being harmed.
Mr Krause said the State Government’s scientific working group had recommended seven species be removed from target species.
“The Scientific Working Group was established to improve the program’s effectiveness and reduce impacts on by-catch and is also exploring alternative shark control technologies, including non-lethal methods,” he said.
“At its meeting in April, the group recommended seven species be removed from the program’s list of target shark species as they were deemed to be non-dangerous and do not pose a significant risk to human life.”
The seven species included blacktip reef whaler, Galapagos whaler, school shark, thresher shark, pelagic thresher shark, bigeye thresher shark and whitetip reef shark.
Surf Life Saving Queensland supports the ongoing use of drumlines and netting.
“The safety of beachgoers is our priority and we support the Shark Control Program through regular contact with its manager,” a spokesman said.
“We have a representation on local focus groups which look at any issues relating to the program.”
Gold Coast surfer Desislava Ivanova, 27, said she had not seen any sharks.
“I’m not afraid of them because I haven’t seen one yet, and normally I don’t think they would attack,” she said.
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