Fisherman investigated after illegal shark catch - ABC News
The Department of Fisheries is investigating a Sunshine Coast fisherman who breached new shark laws.
The man caught a 2.8 metre bull shark at Eenie Creek in Noosa last month and failed to release it. The amazing thing about this catch is that the location was 14km from the ocean and the creek was estimated at only 3m wide and 5m deep where it was caught!
Under a state law brought in six months ago, the giant shark was almost twice the legal size of 1.5 metres.
Greg Bowness from Fisheries Queensland says if found guilty, the man faces a maximum penalty of up to $100,000.
'There are a number of options open to the department in relation to these issues so we'll look at the evidence before us and make a decision based on that,' he said.
'There has been a whole raft of changes made to fisheries legislation.
'It is really important for people who are going fishing that they are aware of the specific rules that apply to catching fish and that includes size and bag limits, closed areas and apparatus restriction.'
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
* THE BULL SHARK IS THE MOST DANGEROUS SHARK THAT MANKIND * * HAS EVER MET. Go to the #1 most dangerous shark page to see why *
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Shark attacks don't warrant increased cull
Shark attacks don't warrant increased cull - ABC News
Australia is not alone in having large sharks near populated beaches or for having a reputation for shark attacks.
South Africa is the world's hotspot for great white sharks. It is where documentary makers come to film the dramatic scenes of white sharks breaching in the chase for Cape fur seals and it is the centre of the great white shark cage diving tourism industry where, on a daily basis, fleets of boats head out of the tourism centres packed with people wanting to view a great white shark from the safety of a cage.
In terms of documented attacks, there were six in the period from 1951 to 1970, 25 incidents between 1981 and 1990, 23 incidents reported from 1991 to 2000, and 11 reported great white attacks in the first half of this decade.
In some years, there were anomalously high numbers of attacks, such as Black December in 1957 when five people were bitten by sharks south of Durban, or 1998 when a total of 18 attacks were recorded in South Africa.
The longer term trend of rising incidents since the 50s and 60s mirrors an increase in beach use but cannot explain the year-to-year variations. To date, science cannot conclusively say why there are higher numbers of shark incidents in some years compared to others. It is likely that an array of oceanographic, ecological or behavioural factors are to blame for bringing more or fewer sharks in contact with people in any particular year, but the specific causes remain unknown.
Already it looks like 2009 will go down in the record books as having an anomalously high number of shark attacks in Australia and in the Sydney region in particular. Just as with South Africa, more people in the water increases the chance of an interaction. A cleaner Sydney harbour also increases the chance of finding sharks as well as fish, but it is not clear what other biological, environmental or behavioural factors, if any, are adding to the high recent number of attacks.
There is no doubt that any shark attack is a terribly unfortunate and traumatic incident. Our sympathies are with the victims and their families. On a global scale, elephants, bees, crocodiles and lightning strikes kill more people each year than shark attacks, and beachgoers are at a far greater risk of death by drowning from rips or surf, yet the thought of being attacked by a shark remains a terrifying prospect.
Actions that can help ensure bather safety include increased investment in education and awareness program so that people understand basic rules. Some of these include avoid swimming alone, avoid being in the water when there are low light levels or reduced visibility, don't swim in waters with known effluents or sewage and stay away from fish or gull feeding areas.
Increased investment is needed in research and development, and testing of options such as observer programs, use of electromagnetic field technology and new shark repellent advances in concert with research into sharks, so that we understand more about the behaviour, ecology and environmental cues that affect these species. Together these will allow bather safety programs to be designed to be as targeted and effective as possible without also causing the deaths of marine creatures such as dolphins and turtles that also call the ocean home.
Of the more than 300 species of shark found in Australian waters, there are only a couple of species, most notably the great white shark and bull shark, that are recorded as attacking humans. The vast majority of sharks are shy elusive creatures that appear in a range of often bizarre shapes and sizes, patrolling reefs and open oceans where they fulfil a critically important role at the top of the food chain.
In terms of their reproduction, sharks are long-lived, slow growing and produce relatively few young, which gives them a population dynamic that is more similar to whales and dolphins than to fish. This makes shark populations vulnerable to over-fishing.
The history of shark fisheries the world over is one of 'boom and bust' where excessive fishing pressure causes populations to crash.
The result is that shark species are increasingly finding their way onto the lists of at-risk or endangered species, almost as quickly as new species are being described.
The high price being paid for shark fin in the Asian marketplace appears to be driving a gold rush type mentality around shark fisheries in Queensland and New South Wales. Opportunistic fishers push fisheries managers to increase shark catches and create new shark fishing licences, despite there being no scientific basis that such levels of take are within safe limits for the large numbers of species involved.
With sharks very much in the spotlight, cool heads need to prevail.
The calls for an increase to the shark fishing quota in NSW are driven by this opportunism. Some fishers are using the current media feeding frenzy around sharks to call for an increase in shark hunting levels and are making claims that have no scientific basis. They should be ignored.
Many of the sharks they already catch are docile creatures that are not involved in attacks on bathers. Some of the populations of shark species that these fishers pull out of the water for their fins and flesh are in steep decline.
This is not to deny that we need to find ways to ease the interaction between sharks and humans along our beaches. There needs to be an investment in education, awareness and research and development, so that bather safety programs can be as effective as possible.
But equally, we need to protect the dwindling populations of sharks that have lived in our planet's seas for millions of years. There is no justification for increasing a fishing quota that could see these ancient creatures disappear from our oceans.
Dr Gilly Llewellyn is World Wildlife Fund-Australia's oceans program leader
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Australia is not alone in having large sharks near populated beaches or for having a reputation for shark attacks.
South Africa is the world's hotspot for great white sharks. It is where documentary makers come to film the dramatic scenes of white sharks breaching in the chase for Cape fur seals and it is the centre of the great white shark cage diving tourism industry where, on a daily basis, fleets of boats head out of the tourism centres packed with people wanting to view a great white shark from the safety of a cage.
In terms of documented attacks, there were six in the period from 1951 to 1970, 25 incidents between 1981 and 1990, 23 incidents reported from 1991 to 2000, and 11 reported great white attacks in the first half of this decade.
In some years, there were anomalously high numbers of attacks, such as Black December in 1957 when five people were bitten by sharks south of Durban, or 1998 when a total of 18 attacks were recorded in South Africa.
The longer term trend of rising incidents since the 50s and 60s mirrors an increase in beach use but cannot explain the year-to-year variations. To date, science cannot conclusively say why there are higher numbers of shark incidents in some years compared to others. It is likely that an array of oceanographic, ecological or behavioural factors are to blame for bringing more or fewer sharks in contact with people in any particular year, but the specific causes remain unknown.
Already it looks like 2009 will go down in the record books as having an anomalously high number of shark attacks in Australia and in the Sydney region in particular. Just as with South Africa, more people in the water increases the chance of an interaction. A cleaner Sydney harbour also increases the chance of finding sharks as well as fish, but it is not clear what other biological, environmental or behavioural factors, if any, are adding to the high recent number of attacks.
There is no doubt that any shark attack is a terribly unfortunate and traumatic incident. Our sympathies are with the victims and their families. On a global scale, elephants, bees, crocodiles and lightning strikes kill more people each year than shark attacks, and beachgoers are at a far greater risk of death by drowning from rips or surf, yet the thought of being attacked by a shark remains a terrifying prospect.
Actions that can help ensure bather safety include increased investment in education and awareness program so that people understand basic rules. Some of these include avoid swimming alone, avoid being in the water when there are low light levels or reduced visibility, don't swim in waters with known effluents or sewage and stay away from fish or gull feeding areas.
Increased investment is needed in research and development, and testing of options such as observer programs, use of electromagnetic field technology and new shark repellent advances in concert with research into sharks, so that we understand more about the behaviour, ecology and environmental cues that affect these species. Together these will allow bather safety programs to be designed to be as targeted and effective as possible without also causing the deaths of marine creatures such as dolphins and turtles that also call the ocean home.
Of the more than 300 species of shark found in Australian waters, there are only a couple of species, most notably the great white shark and bull shark, that are recorded as attacking humans. The vast majority of sharks are shy elusive creatures that appear in a range of often bizarre shapes and sizes, patrolling reefs and open oceans where they fulfil a critically important role at the top of the food chain.
In terms of their reproduction, sharks are long-lived, slow growing and produce relatively few young, which gives them a population dynamic that is more similar to whales and dolphins than to fish. This makes shark populations vulnerable to over-fishing.
The history of shark fisheries the world over is one of 'boom and bust' where excessive fishing pressure causes populations to crash.
The result is that shark species are increasingly finding their way onto the lists of at-risk or endangered species, almost as quickly as new species are being described.
The high price being paid for shark fin in the Asian marketplace appears to be driving a gold rush type mentality around shark fisheries in Queensland and New South Wales. Opportunistic fishers push fisheries managers to increase shark catches and create new shark fishing licences, despite there being no scientific basis that such levels of take are within safe limits for the large numbers of species involved.
With sharks very much in the spotlight, cool heads need to prevail.
The calls for an increase to the shark fishing quota in NSW are driven by this opportunism. Some fishers are using the current media feeding frenzy around sharks to call for an increase in shark hunting levels and are making claims that have no scientific basis. They should be ignored.
Many of the sharks they already catch are docile creatures that are not involved in attacks on bathers. Some of the populations of shark species that these fishers pull out of the water for their fins and flesh are in steep decline.
This is not to deny that we need to find ways to ease the interaction between sharks and humans along our beaches. There needs to be an investment in education, awareness and research and development, so that bather safety programs can be as effective as possible.
But equally, we need to protect the dwindling populations of sharks that have lived in our planet's seas for millions of years. There is no justification for increasing a fishing quota that could see these ancient creatures disappear from our oceans.
Dr Gilly Llewellyn is World Wildlife Fund-Australia's oceans program leader
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
NSW releases shark attack proposals
NSW releases shark attack proposals - ABC News
The New South Wales Government has released a number of new proposals to prevent shark attacks, as it defends itself against claims it is failing to protect swimmers after three attacks in Sydney in as many weeks.
The measures include a new shark tagging program, the use of GPS to monitor shark nets and a list of shark attacks by beach since 1900.
The Government is also considering upgrading shark fishing gear and researching shark movements, attacks and population trends to try to identify hotspots and high-risk periods.
The proposals are part of the first review of the long-standing shark net program since 1972. They also include publishing an annual report about the nets' performance.
Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says the Government will also consult with surf lifesavers.
'The Government in the past has provided a number of jet skis to surf lifesavers that have helped them monitor and deter sharks and we'll be discussing these on Thursday,' he said.
The Opposition says the Government has not done enough to protect swimmers and surfers. It says shark nets are deteriorating, the shark fishing quota should be increased and beaches need more aerial patrols.
But Mr Macdonald says aerial patrols do not spot sharks at dawn and dusk, the high-risk periods when the three latest shark attacks occurred. He says the patrols sometimes confuse big fish with sharks.
The Minister also says only 4.2 per cent of sharks caught in the fishing quota are dangerous.
In the latest shark attack, 15-year-old Andrew Lindop was bitten on the leg while surfing with his father, a veteran lifesaver, at Sydney's Avalon Beach at dawn on Sunday.
The boy is recovering in a stable condition in hospital after being rescued by his father.
This year's first Sydney victim, elite Navy diver Paul de Gelder, lost a hand and a leg after being attacked by a bull shark at dawn off Garden Island in Sydney Harbour on February 11.
The following day, surfer Glenn Orgias was mauled by a great white shark at the southern end of Bondi Beach at dusk.
His hand was hanging off his wrist by a three-centimetre piece of skin but doctors have managed to save it in what they have described as a 'minor miracle'.
The proposals will be made open to public consultation next month.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
The New South Wales Government has released a number of new proposals to prevent shark attacks, as it defends itself against claims it is failing to protect swimmers after three attacks in Sydney in as many weeks.
The measures include a new shark tagging program, the use of GPS to monitor shark nets and a list of shark attacks by beach since 1900.
The Government is also considering upgrading shark fishing gear and researching shark movements, attacks and population trends to try to identify hotspots and high-risk periods.
The proposals are part of the first review of the long-standing shark net program since 1972. They also include publishing an annual report about the nets' performance.
Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says the Government will also consult with surf lifesavers.
'The Government in the past has provided a number of jet skis to surf lifesavers that have helped them monitor and deter sharks and we'll be discussing these on Thursday,' he said.
The Opposition says the Government has not done enough to protect swimmers and surfers. It says shark nets are deteriorating, the shark fishing quota should be increased and beaches need more aerial patrols.
But Mr Macdonald says aerial patrols do not spot sharks at dawn and dusk, the high-risk periods when the three latest shark attacks occurred. He says the patrols sometimes confuse big fish with sharks.
The Minister also says only 4.2 per cent of sharks caught in the fishing quota are dangerous.
In the latest shark attack, 15-year-old Andrew Lindop was bitten on the leg while surfing with his father, a veteran lifesaver, at Sydney's Avalon Beach at dawn on Sunday.
The boy is recovering in a stable condition in hospital after being rescued by his father.
This year's first Sydney victim, elite Navy diver Paul de Gelder, lost a hand and a leg after being attacked by a bull shark at dawn off Garden Island in Sydney Harbour on February 11.
The following day, surfer Glenn Orgias was mauled by a great white shark at the southern end of Bondi Beach at dusk.
His hand was hanging off his wrist by a three-centimetre piece of skin but doctors have managed to save it in what they have described as a 'minor miracle'.
The proposals will be made open to public consultation next month.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Police dog braves shark infested river
Anything to do with Bull Sharks is big news on Queenslands Gold Coast (Australia), even if it has nothing to really do with sharks at all:
Police dog braves shark infested river to catch criminal | Dream Dogs Stud Dogs News
by Mark Glenning on November 26, 2010
In an amazing climax to a police chase, a fearless police dog sank his teeth into a fleeing criminal and refused to let go, even though they were swimming in a shark infested stretch of water.
The Hollywood style pursuit began at 3 AM in Ashmore Plaza, on the Gold Coast, when police were called to an incident involving a break-in at a shop. Officers arrived to disturb two men, one of whom fled on foot whilst the other leapt into a car and drove off. One officer opened fire on the vehicle, but the thief made good his escape.
Half an hour later, police spotted the vehicle again and gave chase. The driver crashed into a roundabout, blowing out a tyre before reversing into a police car. He decided to make a run for it, and officers released a police dog – a police dog who had no intention of letting the criminal evade him.
After a chase through the backstreets, the dog caught up with the fleeing criminal and sank its teeth into his leg, refusing to let its quarry go. In desperation, the thief tried to swim across the Nerang River, which is renowned as a hotspot for Bull sharks, which are notorious for attacking humans and whose bite is often mistaken for a Great White – the shark from the film Jaws.
As the wanted man was struggling to cross the river, with the dog still attached, police commandeered a passing jet ski, and headed out into the water to make an arrest.
Two men aged 33 and 30 are now in custody.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Police dog braves shark infested river to catch criminal | Dream Dogs Stud Dogs News
by Mark Glenning on November 26, 2010
In an amazing climax to a police chase, a fearless police dog sank his teeth into a fleeing criminal and refused to let go, even though they were swimming in a shark infested stretch of water.
The Hollywood style pursuit began at 3 AM in Ashmore Plaza, on the Gold Coast, when police were called to an incident involving a break-in at a shop. Officers arrived to disturb two men, one of whom fled on foot whilst the other leapt into a car and drove off. One officer opened fire on the vehicle, but the thief made good his escape.
Half an hour later, police spotted the vehicle again and gave chase. The driver crashed into a roundabout, blowing out a tyre before reversing into a police car. He decided to make a run for it, and officers released a police dog – a police dog who had no intention of letting the criminal evade him.
After a chase through the backstreets, the dog caught up with the fleeing criminal and sank its teeth into his leg, refusing to let its quarry go. In desperation, the thief tried to swim across the Nerang River, which is renowned as a hotspot for Bull sharks, which are notorious for attacking humans and whose bite is often mistaken for a Great White – the shark from the film Jaws.
As the wanted man was struggling to cross the river, with the dog still attached, police commandeered a passing jet ski, and headed out into the water to make an arrest.
Two men aged 33 and 30 are now in custody.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Shark protection industry at work?
Lurking beyond our fatal shores | The Australian: "Lurking beyond our fatal shores
SHARKS are a summer certainty, but how afraid should we be?
IT'S summer in Australia and, as always, the crowds flock to our golden beaches to paddle, swim and surf. It's our heritage and nothing can keep us away. Not even sharks.
Not even the brutal savagery of a shark attack that can dismember and kill. After all, statistics tell us only one person a year dies from a shark attack in Australia. That's on average.
Not bad odds, we tell ourselves. Tens of thousands of us frolic in our coastal waters every day without fear of sharks. Indeed, most Australians have never seen a shark. The risk of attack is not worth worrying about. It's more likely we'll get run over by a truck.
Yet that risk is a reality, even though the bell tolls slowly.
On August 17 this year, father of two Nicholas Edwards was the most recent to die from a shark attack in Australian waters. He was attacked by a great white shark while surfing at Gracetown, near Margaret River 280km south of Perth, the same location where Bradley Adrian Smith was mauled to death six years earlier.
Dive tour guide Elyse Frankcom, 19, was luckier late last month when she survived a great white attack near Rockingham, 50km south of Perth, not far from where Brian Guest was fatally mauled in December 2008.
Sharks do bite. The prevailing opinion, however, is that most attacks are the result of mistaken identity. In the water, from below, humans can resemble seals or turtles. Or it may be a case of simple curiosity. The shark will bite and quickly let go when it realises this is not its natural food.
During months of research for my book Shark! Killer Tales from the Dangerous Depths, I interviewed a wide range of experts from former shark hunters to marine scientists and researchers.
The overwhelming opinion is that fear of sharks is unwarranted and the danger factor almost zero. That fear, they say, is a result of fictitious accounts of monster sharks such as that portrayed in Peter Benchley's book Jaws and the Steven Spielberg movie of the same name that became a worldwide hit in 1975.
Mass killing of sharks followed, leading to several species becoming endangered. Environmentalists claim the killing mood and fear of sharks is exacerbated by sensationalist reports in the media, a trend they say continues whenever an attack occurs.
But there are those who disagree vehemently and warn that the soft attitude to sharks gives people a false and dangerous sense of security.
Fritz Herscheid is one of them. Herscheid, a former salvage diver who operated a lucrative business recovering scrap metal and shipwreck treasures in Papua New Guinea waters during the 1960s and 70s, had to share his encounters with sharks, including tigers and hammerheads, and he didn't like it.
'I would like to see every dangerous shark dead,' Herscheid insists. 'If I could find a genetic way of killing all whites, tigers and bull sharks, I'd kill all of them.'
Bold words, but Herscheid, who owns a broker business in Cairns, refuses to back off.
'Humans come first and animals come second. We have as much right in the water as them and if they can't be kept away from people, then get rid of them.
'My son is a keen surfer, and if he was killed by a shark I'd be a Vic Hislop, all my life killing sharks.'
Hislop's name is known to most Australians. Think sharks, think Hislop, shark hunter.
Hislop hasn't changed his attitude towards sharks in four decades. He maintains hardcore greenies cover up the truth about shark attacks and that many people presumed missing and drowned at sea have in fact been taken by sharks.
He is mocked in scientific circles as a shark killer with no real knowledge of the creatures he hunts. To others, however, he is a valiant sea warrior ridding our coastline of man-eating predators.
Prominent underwater photographers and documentary filmmakers Ron and Valerie Taylor summed up the prevailing conservation attitude to Hislop when Ron Taylor told me in 1991 that they refused to discuss the man or his claims.
'Hislop is the only person in the world we don't want to be associated with,' he said.
'No wonder!' Hislop replied. 'They won't front me on television to debate this issue. I've challenged them, but they're not game because they know I can back up what I'm saying.'
After a spate of shark attacks around the Australian coast early last year, Hislop was adamant in his long-held belief that bureaucrats and government officials, aided and abetted by conservation groups and tourism dive operators, lead a conspiracy to cover up the true figures relating to shark attack fatalities.
'The shark protection industry doesn't like me because I tell the truth,' Hislop says.
'I won't change. I've been right all along. Shark fatalities around Australia and the world are continually manipulated to suit the shark industry.'
Hislop continues to hunt sharks from his base at Hervey Bay, Queensland, where his popular shark show continues to attract enthusiastic crowds.
'The people who are hiding the truth about great white sharks are the ones who will stay out of the water and die in bed. They have no worries, but what about their children and grandchildren?
'Some of them are sure to be taken because I predict the coming years will see a great increase in fatal attacks, all because of blatant lies and bureaucratic stupidity.'
One of the issues that intrigues me is the question of so-called rogue sharks - sometimes referred to as serial killers of the sea - those that attack and kill humans in numbers, at the same time, in the same place.
Do rogue sharks exist or are multiple attacks merely coincidental and random? That such attacks sometimes occur is a fact, but the reasons why are in dispute.
In one little-known but terrifying incident, a tiger shark attacked three people in one day in Madang Harbour in PNG, killing two.
Nine days later it struck again, claiming its third human life.
The killing spree began on February 7, 1996. On that day, the calm waters of this peaceful town were turned into a bloody slaughterhouse as the shark stalked the harbour. In little more than a week, three lives were lost in four attacks.
Tim Rowland, an expatriate Australian who has operated adventure dive tours in PNG and Solomon Islands for the past four decades, said it wasn't until the next day that the attacks became general knowledge.
'Very few people would have known on the day they happened,' Rowland told me. 'The two who went in after the first wouldn't have known.
'That shark basically had breakfast, lunch and dinner.'
A week later, Rowland was scuba diving with a student when they were confronted by a 4m tiger shark. Rowland had entered the water knowing the risk, but experience and common sense ensured he was alert to danger.
'We were supposed to do a surface swim but because I thought the shark might still be around I decided we'd go underwater,' Rowland says.
'I'm glad we did because that's when we ran into him. We were in a little alcove when the shark came in over the top and brushed against me.
'I heard the student scream through his regulator, so I grabbed him and pulled him down to the bottom. I was certain this was the shark that had killed those people.'
Rowland punched the shark as it made several passes before moving off.
'I was amazed at how slow the shark was moving. It was like slow motion, and I was thinking when is he going to open his mouth and take a chomp at us. He was a big shark.'
Rowland and the student made it to safety. A 4m tiger shark was caught 11 days after the first attacks. He has no doubt it was Madang's killer shark.
Australian surgeon V. M. Coppleson was one of the first modern scientists to develop the rogue shark theory in his attempt to understand and explain why sharks occasionally attack humans in numbers.
In his 1958 book Shark Attack, Coppleson used the term rogue many times as he documented multiple attacks across the world, including several serial fatal attack patterns on Sydney's beaches in the 20s and 30s.
He also recorded a series of five fatal shark attacks in four years on the sparsely populated beaches north of Cairns in the 40s.
In an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia, Coppleson wrote: 'A rogue shark, if the theory is correct, and evidence appears to prove it to the hilt - like the man-eating tiger - is a killer which, having experienced the deadly sport of killing or mauling a human, goes in search of similar game. The theory is supported by the pattern and frequency of many attacks.'
The most famous example of multiple shark attacks took place on the New Jersey coast of the US during the summer of 1916, when four people were killed in 12 days. Such a series of attacks was unknown at the time.
Disbelief, fear and confusion reigned until a great white shark was caught in Raritan Bay with human bones and flesh in its stomach.
In December 1957, the South African city of Durban was the focal point for what is believed to be a world record for the most shark attacks in a single place in a short time.
Beginning in what became known as Black December and continuing for 107 days, seven attacks took place at unprotected beaches south of the city, claiming five lives.
But the rogue shark concept is almost universally dismissed in contemporary scientific thought.
John West, who collates statistics for Sydney's Taronga Zoo's Australian Shark Attack File, rejects the notion of rogue sharks that specifically target humans.
He points out that Coppleson's rogue shark theory, while credible at the time, is discredited.
'Modern analysis of shark attack data does not support the theory of a rogue shark as a viable explanation for the vast majority of shark attacks, whether clustered or not,' West says.
'Some of the clusters of attacks he noted were many kilometres apart, or months or even years apart, and could not realistically relate to a single rogue shark.'
John Stevens, a senior principal research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research in Hobart who has 30 years' experience studying sharks, agrees that Coppleson's rogue shark theory is just that, a theory.
'There is no scientific basis for it. It's more likely that favourable conditions for sharks at the time of an attack just brought several into the area around the same time,' Stevens says.
'There is no evidence for one individual being responsible for a chain of attacks.'
Shark attack survivor Rodney Fox, the diver who was almost bitten in half by a great white in 1963 and now owns and operates the Rodney Fox Great White Shark Expeditions at Port Lincoln in South Australia, agrees.
'There is no evidence that a rogue shark, a killer with a taste for human blood, has ever existed in the past or exists now,' he says.
But it's hard to deny the evidence of some multiple attacks being the deadly work of a single shark, and that day of horror in Madang Harbour comes to mind.
Three attacks in one day. Two people dead. One shark.
Robert Reid is the author of Shark! Killer Tales from the Dangerous Depths published by Allen & Unwin and available next Tuesday.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
SHARKS are a summer certainty, but how afraid should we be?
IT'S summer in Australia and, as always, the crowds flock to our golden beaches to paddle, swim and surf. It's our heritage and nothing can keep us away. Not even sharks.
Not even the brutal savagery of a shark attack that can dismember and kill. After all, statistics tell us only one person a year dies from a shark attack in Australia. That's on average.
Not bad odds, we tell ourselves. Tens of thousands of us frolic in our coastal waters every day without fear of sharks. Indeed, most Australians have never seen a shark. The risk of attack is not worth worrying about. It's more likely we'll get run over by a truck.
Yet that risk is a reality, even though the bell tolls slowly.
On August 17 this year, father of two Nicholas Edwards was the most recent to die from a shark attack in Australian waters. He was attacked by a great white shark while surfing at Gracetown, near Margaret River 280km south of Perth, the same location where Bradley Adrian Smith was mauled to death six years earlier.
Dive tour guide Elyse Frankcom, 19, was luckier late last month when she survived a great white attack near Rockingham, 50km south of Perth, not far from where Brian Guest was fatally mauled in December 2008.
Sharks do bite. The prevailing opinion, however, is that most attacks are the result of mistaken identity. In the water, from below, humans can resemble seals or turtles. Or it may be a case of simple curiosity. The shark will bite and quickly let go when it realises this is not its natural food.
During months of research for my book Shark! Killer Tales from the Dangerous Depths, I interviewed a wide range of experts from former shark hunters to marine scientists and researchers.
The overwhelming opinion is that fear of sharks is unwarranted and the danger factor almost zero. That fear, they say, is a result of fictitious accounts of monster sharks such as that portrayed in Peter Benchley's book Jaws and the Steven Spielberg movie of the same name that became a worldwide hit in 1975.
Mass killing of sharks followed, leading to several species becoming endangered. Environmentalists claim the killing mood and fear of sharks is exacerbated by sensationalist reports in the media, a trend they say continues whenever an attack occurs.
But there are those who disagree vehemently and warn that the soft attitude to sharks gives people a false and dangerous sense of security.
Fritz Herscheid is one of them. Herscheid, a former salvage diver who operated a lucrative business recovering scrap metal and shipwreck treasures in Papua New Guinea waters during the 1960s and 70s, had to share his encounters with sharks, including tigers and hammerheads, and he didn't like it.
'I would like to see every dangerous shark dead,' Herscheid insists. 'If I could find a genetic way of killing all whites, tigers and bull sharks, I'd kill all of them.'
Bold words, but Herscheid, who owns a broker business in Cairns, refuses to back off.
'Humans come first and animals come second. We have as much right in the water as them and if they can't be kept away from people, then get rid of them.
'My son is a keen surfer, and if he was killed by a shark I'd be a Vic Hislop, all my life killing sharks.'
Hislop's name is known to most Australians. Think sharks, think Hislop, shark hunter.
Hislop hasn't changed his attitude towards sharks in four decades. He maintains hardcore greenies cover up the truth about shark attacks and that many people presumed missing and drowned at sea have in fact been taken by sharks.
He is mocked in scientific circles as a shark killer with no real knowledge of the creatures he hunts. To others, however, he is a valiant sea warrior ridding our coastline of man-eating predators.
Prominent underwater photographers and documentary filmmakers Ron and Valerie Taylor summed up the prevailing conservation attitude to Hislop when Ron Taylor told me in 1991 that they refused to discuss the man or his claims.
'Hislop is the only person in the world we don't want to be associated with,' he said.
'No wonder!' Hislop replied. 'They won't front me on television to debate this issue. I've challenged them, but they're not game because they know I can back up what I'm saying.'
After a spate of shark attacks around the Australian coast early last year, Hislop was adamant in his long-held belief that bureaucrats and government officials, aided and abetted by conservation groups and tourism dive operators, lead a conspiracy to cover up the true figures relating to shark attack fatalities.
'The shark protection industry doesn't like me because I tell the truth,' Hislop says.
'I won't change. I've been right all along. Shark fatalities around Australia and the world are continually manipulated to suit the shark industry.'
Hislop continues to hunt sharks from his base at Hervey Bay, Queensland, where his popular shark show continues to attract enthusiastic crowds.
'The people who are hiding the truth about great white sharks are the ones who will stay out of the water and die in bed. They have no worries, but what about their children and grandchildren?
'Some of them are sure to be taken because I predict the coming years will see a great increase in fatal attacks, all because of blatant lies and bureaucratic stupidity.'
One of the issues that intrigues me is the question of so-called rogue sharks - sometimes referred to as serial killers of the sea - those that attack and kill humans in numbers, at the same time, in the same place.
Do rogue sharks exist or are multiple attacks merely coincidental and random? That such attacks sometimes occur is a fact, but the reasons why are in dispute.
In one little-known but terrifying incident, a tiger shark attacked three people in one day in Madang Harbour in PNG, killing two.
Nine days later it struck again, claiming its third human life.
The killing spree began on February 7, 1996. On that day, the calm waters of this peaceful town were turned into a bloody slaughterhouse as the shark stalked the harbour. In little more than a week, three lives were lost in four attacks.
Tim Rowland, an expatriate Australian who has operated adventure dive tours in PNG and Solomon Islands for the past four decades, said it wasn't until the next day that the attacks became general knowledge.
'Very few people would have known on the day they happened,' Rowland told me. 'The two who went in after the first wouldn't have known.
'That shark basically had breakfast, lunch and dinner.'
A week later, Rowland was scuba diving with a student when they were confronted by a 4m tiger shark. Rowland had entered the water knowing the risk, but experience and common sense ensured he was alert to danger.
'We were supposed to do a surface swim but because I thought the shark might still be around I decided we'd go underwater,' Rowland says.
'I'm glad we did because that's when we ran into him. We were in a little alcove when the shark came in over the top and brushed against me.
'I heard the student scream through his regulator, so I grabbed him and pulled him down to the bottom. I was certain this was the shark that had killed those people.'
Rowland punched the shark as it made several passes before moving off.
'I was amazed at how slow the shark was moving. It was like slow motion, and I was thinking when is he going to open his mouth and take a chomp at us. He was a big shark.'
Rowland and the student made it to safety. A 4m tiger shark was caught 11 days after the first attacks. He has no doubt it was Madang's killer shark.
Australian surgeon V. M. Coppleson was one of the first modern scientists to develop the rogue shark theory in his attempt to understand and explain why sharks occasionally attack humans in numbers.
In his 1958 book Shark Attack, Coppleson used the term rogue many times as he documented multiple attacks across the world, including several serial fatal attack patterns on Sydney's beaches in the 20s and 30s.
He also recorded a series of five fatal shark attacks in four years on the sparsely populated beaches north of Cairns in the 40s.
In an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia, Coppleson wrote: 'A rogue shark, if the theory is correct, and evidence appears to prove it to the hilt - like the man-eating tiger - is a killer which, having experienced the deadly sport of killing or mauling a human, goes in search of similar game. The theory is supported by the pattern and frequency of many attacks.'
The most famous example of multiple shark attacks took place on the New Jersey coast of the US during the summer of 1916, when four people were killed in 12 days. Such a series of attacks was unknown at the time.
Disbelief, fear and confusion reigned until a great white shark was caught in Raritan Bay with human bones and flesh in its stomach.
In December 1957, the South African city of Durban was the focal point for what is believed to be a world record for the most shark attacks in a single place in a short time.
Beginning in what became known as Black December and continuing for 107 days, seven attacks took place at unprotected beaches south of the city, claiming five lives.
But the rogue shark concept is almost universally dismissed in contemporary scientific thought.
John West, who collates statistics for Sydney's Taronga Zoo's Australian Shark Attack File, rejects the notion of rogue sharks that specifically target humans.
He points out that Coppleson's rogue shark theory, while credible at the time, is discredited.
'Modern analysis of shark attack data does not support the theory of a rogue shark as a viable explanation for the vast majority of shark attacks, whether clustered or not,' West says.
'Some of the clusters of attacks he noted were many kilometres apart, or months or even years apart, and could not realistically relate to a single rogue shark.'
John Stevens, a senior principal research scientist at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research in Hobart who has 30 years' experience studying sharks, agrees that Coppleson's rogue shark theory is just that, a theory.
'There is no scientific basis for it. It's more likely that favourable conditions for sharks at the time of an attack just brought several into the area around the same time,' Stevens says.
'There is no evidence for one individual being responsible for a chain of attacks.'
Shark attack survivor Rodney Fox, the diver who was almost bitten in half by a great white in 1963 and now owns and operates the Rodney Fox Great White Shark Expeditions at Port Lincoln in South Australia, agrees.
'There is no evidence that a rogue shark, a killer with a taste for human blood, has ever existed in the past or exists now,' he says.
But it's hard to deny the evidence of some multiple attacks being the deadly work of a single shark, and that day of horror in Madang Harbour comes to mind.
Three attacks in one day. Two people dead. One shark.
Robert Reid is the author of Shark! Killer Tales from the Dangerous Depths published by Allen & Unwin and available next Tuesday.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Bull Sharks Jump Out Of Water In Brisbane River
Bull Sharks Jump Out Of Water In Brisbane River:
"Leaping sharks are no bull"
Sean Baumgart
September 6, 2010
Bull sharks' behaviour baffles scientists.
It's a phenomenon with which Brisbane River boaties are familiar, but scientists are at a loss to explain.
Every year as temperatures rise, bull sharks can be seen leaping from the water and spinning through the air, sparking wonder among spectators and researchers alike.
University of Queensland professor in zoology Craig Franklin says despite up to a thousand bull sharks living in the river winding its way through the state capital, much of their behaviour is a mystery.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Particularly confounding is the sight of the sharks getting air time during warmer months.
It is a spectacle ferry drivers say they catch sight of up to four times a week.
Craig Wilkins, who has spent years on the river as a City Cat master and at the helm of the Kookaburra Queen, says the wide stretch of river at Bulimba is a common spot for the behaviour.
“The warmer the water, the more times you will see them jumping,” he said. As the sun gets up, that's when you will see them jumping.
“About two years ago the river was a little bit cleaner than usual and everybody was seeing them. You ask any City Cat master, they'll say the same thing. They see them jumping all the time.”
As well, their aerials show the sharks are also more active underwater as the river at this time of year.
Sharks found upstream are normally less than 1.5m long and pose little threat to people.
However, dog owners have been warned to keep their pets out of the river at dusk and dawn, when sharks are most active.
There have been numerous reports of dogs being taken from the river's edge and even instances of more ambitious sharks taking on larger prey.
In 2005, Ipswich locals were shocked after a bull shark attacked a race horse being put through its paces in the Brisbane River at Kholo.
The attack came just weeks after a teenager was bitten on the head and finger at Karalee.
One ferry driver recently told of seeing a Chihuahua snapped up in shallow water at the edge of the river and Professor Franklin said small dogs would be attractive to sharks.
“Small snacks like [Chihuahuas] could be within the size range of prey items that a bull shark would take,” he said.
“You wouldn't want to let your dog go for a swim around dusk and dawn. That's when they are most likely to be feeding.”
A “cosmopolitan” creature found in tropical and sub-tropical waterways around the world, the bull shark has long baffled scientists with its behaviour in Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji and Florida.
In some cases they have been observed leaping for bats, but by and large their motive is a mystery, according to Professor Franklin.
“I've got no idea to tell you the truth,” he said. “Whether it's to scare prey out, I've got no idea why they do that.
“I've seen it and it tends to be the small ones.”
City Cat and ferry drivers say they often see it during the long hours they spend on the waterway.
They have even ventured theories on why it happens.
Mr Wilkins said the manoeuvre could be a type of housekeeping.
“My belief is, and I don't know if it is accurate, but my belief is that they are getting rid of parasites and that's why they spin around so fast,” he said.
“That's what we see as we are driving along occasionally is them jumping up and doing a bit of a spin and hitting the water again. They're usually about four foot long and the biggest I've ever seen was about six foot, I guess.”
His theory was echoed by another ferry driver who spoke to brisbanetimes.com.au, but Professor Franklin wasn't sold on the idea.
“I doubt that,” he said. “There are external parasites that they can have, but I've never heard that it's a successful strategy to remove parasites.”
Professor Franklin said it was possible bull sharks were among those filmed feeding on a school of bait fish off Teewah Beach north of Noosa on Friday and were often found in the open ocean.
But he said what set them apart from other species was their ability to survive in fresh water thanks to being able to retain salt in their bodies.
He said the sharks give birth near the mouth of the river, with the 50cm pups heading upstream, where they would live for up to four years until they venture into the ocean in search of larger prey.
“I think to be in a state capital city and to have bull sharks in our waterways is a wonderful thing. They are undoubtedly an incredible animal to have in our waterways,” he said.
Around the world, more fatalities are attributed to bull sharks than any other species.
In the past decade bull sharks have been blamed for deaths in the Gold Coast canal system, and an attack which killed a teenage girl at North Stradbroke Island in 2006.
“You could almost say they are a cosmopolitan shark in that most capital cities are built around river systems, they are circum-global, so right around the globe, so the likelihood of people being injured or killed is higher,” said Professor Franklin.
“But they don't target humans. People need to realise that. They are opportunistic feeders. All we have to do is modify our behaviour and be careful where we swim and the time at which we swim.
“You look at the unfortunate incidents on the Gold Coast in the canals where people were taken and they were swimming around at night time or dusk or dawn.”
"Leaping sharks are no bull"
Sean Baumgart
September 6, 2010
Bull sharks' behaviour baffles scientists.
It's a phenomenon with which Brisbane River boaties are familiar, but scientists are at a loss to explain.
Every year as temperatures rise, bull sharks can be seen leaping from the water and spinning through the air, sparking wonder among spectators and researchers alike.
University of Queensland professor in zoology Craig Franklin says despite up to a thousand bull sharks living in the river winding its way through the state capital, much of their behaviour is a mystery.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Particularly confounding is the sight of the sharks getting air time during warmer months.
It is a spectacle ferry drivers say they catch sight of up to four times a week.
Craig Wilkins, who has spent years on the river as a City Cat master and at the helm of the Kookaburra Queen, says the wide stretch of river at Bulimba is a common spot for the behaviour.
“The warmer the water, the more times you will see them jumping,” he said. As the sun gets up, that's when you will see them jumping.
“About two years ago the river was a little bit cleaner than usual and everybody was seeing them. You ask any City Cat master, they'll say the same thing. They see them jumping all the time.”
As well, their aerials show the sharks are also more active underwater as the river at this time of year.
Sharks found upstream are normally less than 1.5m long and pose little threat to people.
However, dog owners have been warned to keep their pets out of the river at dusk and dawn, when sharks are most active.
There have been numerous reports of dogs being taken from the river's edge and even instances of more ambitious sharks taking on larger prey.
In 2005, Ipswich locals were shocked after a bull shark attacked a race horse being put through its paces in the Brisbane River at Kholo.
The attack came just weeks after a teenager was bitten on the head and finger at Karalee.
One ferry driver recently told of seeing a Chihuahua snapped up in shallow water at the edge of the river and Professor Franklin said small dogs would be attractive to sharks.
“Small snacks like [Chihuahuas] could be within the size range of prey items that a bull shark would take,” he said.
“You wouldn't want to let your dog go for a swim around dusk and dawn. That's when they are most likely to be feeding.”
A “cosmopolitan” creature found in tropical and sub-tropical waterways around the world, the bull shark has long baffled scientists with its behaviour in Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji and Florida.
In some cases they have been observed leaping for bats, but by and large their motive is a mystery, according to Professor Franklin.
“I've got no idea to tell you the truth,” he said. “Whether it's to scare prey out, I've got no idea why they do that.
“I've seen it and it tends to be the small ones.”
City Cat and ferry drivers say they often see it during the long hours they spend on the waterway.
They have even ventured theories on why it happens.
Mr Wilkins said the manoeuvre could be a type of housekeeping.
“My belief is, and I don't know if it is accurate, but my belief is that they are getting rid of parasites and that's why they spin around so fast,” he said.
“That's what we see as we are driving along occasionally is them jumping up and doing a bit of a spin and hitting the water again. They're usually about four foot long and the biggest I've ever seen was about six foot, I guess.”
His theory was echoed by another ferry driver who spoke to brisbanetimes.com.au, but Professor Franklin wasn't sold on the idea.
“I doubt that,” he said. “There are external parasites that they can have, but I've never heard that it's a successful strategy to remove parasites.”
Professor Franklin said it was possible bull sharks were among those filmed feeding on a school of bait fish off Teewah Beach north of Noosa on Friday and were often found in the open ocean.
But he said what set them apart from other species was their ability to survive in fresh water thanks to being able to retain salt in their bodies.
He said the sharks give birth near the mouth of the river, with the 50cm pups heading upstream, where they would live for up to four years until they venture into the ocean in search of larger prey.
“I think to be in a state capital city and to have bull sharks in our waterways is a wonderful thing. They are undoubtedly an incredible animal to have in our waterways,” he said.
Around the world, more fatalities are attributed to bull sharks than any other species.
In the past decade bull sharks have been blamed for deaths in the Gold Coast canal system, and an attack which killed a teenage girl at North Stradbroke Island in 2006.
“You could almost say they are a cosmopolitan shark in that most capital cities are built around river systems, they are circum-global, so right around the globe, so the likelihood of people being injured or killed is higher,” said Professor Franklin.
“But they don't target humans. People need to realise that. They are opportunistic feeders. All we have to do is modify our behaviour and be careful where we swim and the time at which we swim.
“You look at the unfortunate incidents on the Gold Coast in the canals where people were taken and they were swimming around at night time or dusk or dawn.”
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