Sharks in SouthWest WA

[OffRoadFalcon]

As some know, in the South West of WA there's been a number more shark sightings than usual, as well as attacks.

Obviously something is probably out of the norm, or after the first two attacks people have been looking for them a lot more and thus are finding them.

This is my rant.
Today, in the local Busselton paper, it has been announced that the shark that has been in the last two weeks has been ordered killed.
I couldn't believe it when I read it!

This shark has simply been doing its thing in the ocean, its home. It hasn't got a clue that there's people nearby, nor do sharks consider humans as their food. Its mainly been around the Meelup Bay, Eagle bay and Bunker Bay area... and there's a seal colony around the corner from Bunker Bay...

There doesn't even seem to be much research happening into why the sharks seem to be coming closer. I certainly haven't seen much.

I go swimming and kayaking a lot, and I've never seen a shark nor am I concerned. Getting paranoid about them doesn't make sense. We humans don't belong in the ocean, which is the shark's home so we shouldn't expect there to be no risk!
Sharks have been around before, I remember the Rangers asking us to get out of the water a few times because of a shark sighting from a boat or whatnot. Usually we didn't and no one's been hurt. Sharks don't usually come to the shallow waters people swim in. Divers and surfers are most at risk in the deeper water.

I just can't believe that they would call for the shark to be killed, just because it's been an inconvenience for a couple of weeks. It's not fair! It's cruel! If it were a person we would not even consider such action.

How about kangaroos? They're very inconvenient and dangerous at night on our roads. Should we kill them as well?


I thought humans were past making such decisions, I would expect to hear this 100 years ago, but not in 2013!

This is no less horrible as 9/11 IMO. It just makes me so angry.

What does anyone else think?

[MercurySilver]

i think id have something to complain about if a shark came on land and bit me
killing the shark because it mistook a human for a seal in the ocean where it lives i dont agree with.

kill it and another one will do the same thing in a week month year
does it end when theyre all killed??

[comagutsa]

they have been there for millions of years but coz you get a few more shark attacks than normal people start to freak out...
of cause you are going to get more sightings because they are now flying up and down the coast looking for them where as a few years ago this didnt happen and
people are also looking out for them more
i used to surf down gracetown area and all the way up to red bluff for 12 years and only saw 3 sharks but i bet there was alot more that i didnt see
you have more chance of being struck by lighening than getting attacked by a shark..

as for roos we do kill them for meat but only a few people get to do it legally

[XR6_661]

I hope they don't find it.

[DoreSlamR]

Originally Posted by Mr. Grinzy

How about kangaroos? They're very inconvenient and dangerous at night on our roads. Should we kill them as well?

Mate when the new highway went through that stretch of pines just out of town, all the roos there were culled because too many were being hit by cars.

So..yeah, busso shire have "been there, done that"

[XW WA]

This is no less horrible as 9/11 IMO.

Are you for real ?

[Mickxr8]

Stop stealing there real food ( aimed at trawlers etc ) and they may be less desparate for a feed ?

[05_ENFORCER]

The small minded political minority will win this one, good luck greenies :


.

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by XW WA

This is no less horrible as 9/11 IMO.

Are you for real ?

You bet I am.
To a shark population which is endangered, if we start killing them because they're just being, I can't be less of a disaster as 9/11 was. It's unthinkably stupid.

What also gets me is all the years I've spent with my head in textbooks learning about how things like this SHOULDN'T happen anymore because humans have learnt the importance of everything in the ecosystems... and that we must conserve them...

...only when it's convenient.

I thought this kind of thinking would have been abolished decades ago, especially in this country. The cruelty alone of doing this is just wrong.

It's not humans who have to worry about being killed sharks and other animals, they have to worry about us.

[Jim Goose]

A few weeks ago there was a story about a dingo at a national park which stole a british tourists purse which contained lotsa money and jewels.... all of which were lost.

Said dingo was shot... because it was a problem... stealing food from tourists.. omg... how disgusting... dingoes stealing food... in its natural habitat.

[XW WA]

I hear what your trying to say ,and i dont agree with killing a shark because its being a shark,but saying it is as bad as the biggest terrorist attack in modern history that killed over two thousand innocent people on that day, plus the deaths and diseases the emergency services personel got after pouring into ground zero to try and rescue people after the fact.Not to mention it was the catalyst for a war that tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have been killed including some of Australias best and bravest.I myself would put a bullet in the head of 1000 sharks if it meant avoiding a similar event such as 9/11 and i reckon most people would too.
Also killing this 1 (one) shark ,as what is proposed, will make no difference to the shark population, not like the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of sharks world wide for fin Like i said i agree with your opinion , your comparison to 9/11 was way off

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by XW WA

I hear what your trying to say ,and i dont agree with killing a shark because its being a shark,but saying it is as bad as the biggest terrorist attack in modern history that killed over two thousand innocent people on that day, plus the deaths and diseases the emergency services personel got after pouring into ground zero to try and rescue people after the fact.Not to mention it was the catalyst for a war that tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have been killed including some of Australias best and bravest.I myself would put a bullet in the head of 1000 sharks if it meant avoiding a similar event such as 9/11 and i reckon most people would too.
Also killing this 1 (one) shark ,as what is proposed, will make no difference to the shark population, not like the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of sharks world wide for fin Like i said i agree with your opinion , your comparison to 9/11 was way off

Yes maybe you are right. I was angry when I compared the two. I was trying to make a point of how strongly I feel this is wrong, by comparing it to a disaster that most people can relate to.

I'm not so sure killing 1000 of the great whites would be better than having a similar disaster occur again. I'm not saying I disagree but I'm considering the other side of the story as well.
Killing 1000 Great Whites which are already endangered, may have environmental repurcussions that may greatly affect the ocean ecosystems... They play a very important part.
I wouldn't be so sure that saving thousands of people is worth the cost to the environment...
I would want to find out a lot more about the effects before I made a statement.

It's when people decide that the safety of themselves and other humans is what should be on the top of the list that frustrates me so much. If that continues to be so then we will continue to manipulate and basically destroy this planet.

Unfortunately killing one shark is often the beginning of many kills. If they can justify this kill, then they will justify more as future shark visits become inconvenient.

I just don't know why they don't put into practice what they preach to us school-age kids. There is always a better way.

[noflac52]

[QUOTE=
It's when people decide that the safety of themselves and other humans is what should be on the top of the list that frustrates me so much. If that continues to be so then we will continue to manipulate and basically destroy this planet.

The safety of humans at the top of the list is a natural survival instinct as it is to all species to put themselves first but we are smart enough to just stay out of the water if it bothers us as individuals rather than kill the shark.

I suppose this decision has been made by a committee with vested interests such as making money, etc etc rather than people such as yourself who actually use the water.

[macman]

Humans are the real pest species.

That is all.

[STINKY NINJA]

If you dont want to be eaten by a shark dont go in the water...

[comagutsa]

update;;;well after a week or just under of trying to find it, they couldn't so they have called off the hunt

[marlin351]

Years ago I fished for great whites off dunsborough. To go and catch one is a time consuming exercise. For starters you will see/catch hundereds of other species of sharks untill you even see a white. Even when you find a white, getting it to take a bait can take hours( like all fish only feed when it suits them ) . If it takes the bait you must be ready for a large angry animal possibly jumping clean out of the water and doing all the unexpected. Still do lots of shark fishing down here and havnt seeen a white in last 10 years. am pleased no white was killed as they are a beast that deserves to do its own thing. The only solution is to stop looking and no sharks will be seen..

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by marlin351

Years ago I fished for great whites off dunsborough. To go and catch one is a time consuming exercise. For starters you will see/catch hundereds of other species of sharks untill you even see a white. Even when you find a white, getting it to take a bait can take hours( like all fish only feed when it suits them ) . If it takes the bait you must be ready for a large angry animal possibly jumping clean out of the water and doing all the unexpected. Still do lots of shark fishing down here and havnt seeen a white in last 10 years. am pleased no white was killed as they are a beast that deserves to do its own thing. The only solution is to stop looking and no sharks will be seen..

Ah but thats the thing...when you have shark patrols and all. You are correct Marlin.

I agree with the OP anyway.

The whole "lets go kill the shark" is just for brownie points for the local gocvo, just to show that they are doing something good for the community. They can go to buggery.

[Trav199]

not saying its okay to kill them BUT if it took one of your family would you still want it alive??? just saying..

[335POWER]

I get extremely annoyed when people call for a shark to be culled because it bit someone. No shark goes out of it's way to kill a human for food. When people have been "attacked", it's the shark doing an investigative bite. Sharks don't like the taste of humans, and spit humans back out when they realize they have something that is not their normal food.

Fatal shark "attacks" are a result of blood loss from the single bite. The only time a shark will attack a human for food is when it is injured, can not chase down it's normal food, and is desperate for a feed.

I love sharks. I hope people start to respect that the ocean is THEIR home, not ours. We are visitors in their home. Enter the ocean at your own risk.

[335POWER]

Originally Posted by Trav199

not saying its okay to kill them BUT if it took one of your family would you still want it alive??? just saying..

Nope, still would not want the shark killed.

[TMC]

I don't know if there'd be 1000 White pointers left actually, but I'm no Shark expert either.

Kind of reminds me of a Simpsons episode where they employed a huge Bear patrol because one docile bear wandered into town an sat on the Simpsons lawn. It cost too much and they increased taxes and then the town rioted. Kind of like real life really.

There are people out there (for a bit of humour I'll say they drive Audi's, Saabs and Volvos) who need a totally sanitised environment to live in. They develop allergies to dust mites, leaves, small babies, and the gentle ocean breeze. If a leaf falls in the forest, they hear it, and get upset about the mess it makes, get into council and chop that forest down. These sort of people would be happy to vacuum the entire ocean clean of all life, to save us from tripping over our own feet and suing ourselves for negligence. In short, they CARE. (Where's the sarcasm emoticon when I need it?)

Sharks were there first. We are destroying their world and ours. This sort of nonsense gets me mad. The movie Jaws made people think that Sharks are psychopathic killing machines, that hate you and your entire family and will stop at nothing to kill you one way or the other. In reality, they can't help being a big giant fish that likes eating other fish.

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by Troy23

I get extremely annoyed when people call for a shark to be culled because it bit someone. No shark goes out of it's way to kill a human for food. When people have been "attacked", it's the shark doing an investigative bite. Sharks don't like the taste of humans, and spit humans back out when they realize they have something that is not their normal food.

Fatal shark "attacks" are a result of blood loss from the single bite. The only time a shark will attack a human for food is when it is injured, can not chase down it's normal food, and is desperate for a feed.

I love sharks. I hope people start to respect that the ocean is THEIR home, not ours. We are visitors in their home. Enter the ocean at your own risk.

I fully agree with your post.

And no not on any way would I want the shark killed. They dont mean any harm to humans. Everyone makes mistakes.
Id certainly be upset if someone close was killed by one, but the shark does not deserve to die for it.

[335POWER]

Originally Posted by TMC

I don't know if there'd be 1000 White pointers left actually, but I'm no Shark expert either.

Kind of reminds me of a Simpsons episode where they employed a huge Bear patrol because one docile bear wandered into town an sat on the Simpsons lawn. It cost too much and they increased taxes and then the town rioted. Kind of like real life really.

There are people out there (for a bit of humour I'll say they drive Audi's, Saabs and Volvos) who need a totally sanitised environment to live in. They develop allergies to dust mites, leaves, small babies, and the gentle ocean breeze. If a leaf falls in the forest, they hear it, and get upset about the mess it makes, get into council and chop that forest down. These sort of people would be happy to vacuum the entire ocean clean of all life, to save us from tripping over our own feet and suing ourselves for negligence. In short, they CARE. (Where's the sarcasm emoticon when I need it?)

Sharks were there first. We are destroying their world and ours. This sort of nonsense gets me mad. The movie Jaws made people think that Sharks are psychopathic killing machines, that hate you and your entire family and will stop at nothing to kill you one way or the other. In reality, they can't help being a big giant fish that likes eating other fish.

I've been down in a cage at the Neptune Islands, these animals are so graceful. And they are the kings of the ocean.

Like you said, Jaws made people believe that Great Whites were vicious killers, and it's not how Peter Brenchley wanted them to be seen as.

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by Mr. Grinzy

What also gets me is all the years I've spent with my head in textbooks learning about how things like this SHOULDN'T happen anymore because humans have learnt the importance of everything in the ecosystems... and that we must conserve them...

...only when it's convenient.

Just out of interest, which course have you been studying?

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by Trav199

not saying its okay to kill them BUT if it took one of your family would you still want it alive??? just saying..

If a shark came into my home and killed one, then it will be destroyed. But if my family goes into their home.....

Killing it gains nothing at all.