TOPIC:

Hopefully it was over 3m & not 2.95m, only 1,000,000 more sharks to go!!

Like every West Australian I’ve swum, surfed and dived at most beaches up and down our coast but have realised that we can’t use the water like it was still the 60’s or 70’s. After the closure of the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company and the shift in the Leeuwin current of course there is going to be more sharks following the coast. My head tells me that catching sharks in popular areas is a good thing as part of a total package, but my heart is really not in it.
As far as I can see there are two parts to this:
Secured swimming - the shires put up nets on the beaches, like those at Cockburn, to be paid for by parking fees. Easy to do at Sorrento where there is already 2 groins.
Unsecured water use – if you want to be a thrill seeker, you use the beach at your own risk.

I'm not sure what all the protesting etc is about...they've been doing exactly the same thing in Q'land for years.

Its a fucking disgrace that we are now killing sharks like this. People need to realise that we are in THEIR TERRITORY, there is no way the sharks deserve to be killed. Does a hippo or croc deserve to be killed if someone gets killed swimming in a pool in Africa? No. Does a bear deserve to be shot if it kills someone bush walking in Northern America? No. Same story goes for sharks.
You swim at the beach at your own risk, just the same as you drive your car at your own risk or ride a bike at your own risk. It just makes sense that there is more shark attacks now than there was 10/20/30 years ago... Australias population is greatly increasing ever day. The more people there are, the more people there are swimming at the beach which can only mean that there will be more attacks. Will there be more attacks in 20 years? I would say so, yes... unless we have killed them all which is highly possible when we have moronic fuckstains making these decisions. Sharks are amazing creatures and definitely do no deserve to be killed because they have chomped on a few people. The last thing we should want is for sharks to go the way of the dodo.
As for shark nets, they could work. The only issue with them is the fact that they catch and kill so many innocent sea creatures. If people dont want to risk swimming at the beach then go and swim in a pool!
And FYI, I have this opinion even though I have personally been chased in by sharks twice in my 28 year life. I have also freedived with them up north, it was one of the most amazing moments of my life.

I don't know what the fuss is about.
Fishermen have been culling them for years.
Allow them to do it again.
Conservationists need to get real and examine the real facts particularly about the affect instead of being irrational and emotional.
I would have thought that human life is important, maybe I'm wrong according to the conservationists.
CONSERVE HUMANS I SAY.

Demons Forever wrote: I don't know what the fuss is about.
Fishermen have been culling them for years.
Allow them to do it again.
Conservationists need to get real and examine the real facts particularly about the affect instead of being irrational and emotional.
I would have thought that human life is important, maybe I'm wrong according to the conservationists.
CONSERVE HUMANS I SAY.

The problem is DF that not for the first time Barnett has done something without any regard to the science behind the strategy. If some one is unfortunately bitten by a shark now that we have laid drum lines what does he do then? What is the long term impact of the scheme? Of course this was done by a politicians on the side of politics whcich does not believe in climate change - so should we be surprised? Probably not.

I am not overly happy about the sharks being culled, but when peoples lives are at risk then I say it is better a shark being culled than a mother/father/son/daughter being killed. Yes we are swimming in their territory, but swimming at the beach is also a humans territory as well. If you want to swim 300m-1km offshore, then I believe you do so at your own risk, but when you are just down at the beach on a hot summers day, you should not be scared of the water because of 3+m great whites.

The great white is not going to go extinct, the government has not issued a worldwide 3m+ cull on sharks. They are doing it to protect the people. So what happens when the government does nothing about the sharks, and another person's life is taken, who do we blame? The goverment. When they do something about it, who do we blame? The Government.

To me they are trying to make it safer for the humans, I am all for that. If their ends up being a better way to do this and it means not culling sharks, then I will definately be all for that as well. But at the moment, it seems this is the most effective way.

Soprano wrote: I am not overly happy about the sharks being culled, but when peoples lives are at risk then I say it is better a shark being culled than a mother/father/son/daughter being killed. Yes we are swimming in their territory, but swimming at the beach is also a humans territory as well. If you want to swim 300m-1km offshore, then I believe you do so at your own risk, but when you are just down at the beach on a hot summers day, you should not be scared of the water because of 3+m great whites.

The great white is not going to go extinct, the government has not issued a worldwide 3m+ cull on sharks. They are doing it to protect the people. So what happens when the government does nothing about the sharks, and another person's life is taken, who do we blame? The goverment. When they do something about it, who do we blame? The Government.

To me they are trying to make it safer for the humans, I am all for that. If their ends up being a better way to do this and it means not culling sharks, then I will definately be all for that as well. But at the moment, it seems this is the most effective way.

Soprano my problem with what is going on is that there is no sound scientific evidence that this is going to resolve the problem I pose the hypothetical situation, which hopefully won't happen, what de we do if there is another shark attack near the 'drum-lined' beaches?

Don't you love the scientific evidence "red herring"! Scientific evidence is often collected over a long period and there often conflicting interpretations by various scientists. If we would wait for scientific evidence on every decision a government has to make then we would just be sitting on our hands wishing that nothing would go wrong in the meantime.

Perhaps we should focus on the outcomes from long extended similar "trials" over decades in Queensland and NSW.

If the government did nothing there would be outrage if another person was taken by a shark. Dammed if you don't and dammed if you do!

Personally I'm happy for the government to try things while awaiting the outcome of a trial in this situation.

Yeh I understand that Swan. But I guess it is better to actually try this method, if it is thought (not scientifically proven) that it will work. Guess when more research etc is done then a better method can be put into place.

I believe that their still will be a threat and attacks whilst the drum lines are active. Guess will jsut hope for the best that their is no attacks and this solutions works.