Helicopter shark patrols have begun along Perth beaches following three fatal attacks in Western Australian waters in the past couple of months.
The move will bring some reassurance to those of nervous disposition who like to take a dip in the ocean … many grey nomads among them.
At the same time the search is also continuing for the shark responsible for the fatal attack on a 32-year-old American scuba diver off the coast of Rottnest Island a few days ago. There is considerable debate over the controversial shoot-to-kill order placed on the shark, which was largely imposed due to the fact
two other shark attacks occurred in a similar part of the ocean.
Shark ecologist Charlie Huveneers told the ABC that despite widespread media attention, shark attacks are still rare events.
He says killing one or two sharks probably will not affect the already slim chances of an attack.
“The culling of one or two individual sharks in a specific location is really unlikely to make a significant difference in the probability of a shark attack, which is already very low,” he said.
And the Conservation Council’s Tim Nicol says more shark patrols and better alarms at beaches are more practical ideas than hunting sharks.
“It seems it’s a very impractical policy because it’s almost impossible to know whether a shark will pose a threat,” he said. “You know the same shark may be a threat one day, it may not another day; we really don’t understand sharks well enough to make that call.”
