Great whites and white pointer sharks swimming close to shore "should be killed on sight" according to the Hon. Colin Barnett, Leader of the Opposition for the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia

Divers and conservationists were stunned by the proposal, as great whites are currently a protected species, and the Australian Fisheries Department has had to work hard to preserve shark populations from unlicensed fishermen carrying out shark finning.

"I recognise these are a protected species and I am not acting out of a sense of revenge towards the creature or out of an unreasonable fear of a predatory shark. I simply believe public safety should come first," said Mr Barnett in a statement posted on his website.

Barnett was reacting to complaints from North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club president Alex McKenzie that surfers had been menaced by great whites coming close to shore. Quoted in the Western Australian McKenzie said he believed that the threat from sharks has increased because the sharks were following large pods of whales along the coast at this time of year.

The Fisheries Department executive director already has the power to order the destruction of a shark if its behaviour was menacing, but Barnett believes that this process is "too cumbersome". However, the Leader of the Assembly believes that increased aerial surveillance and the preparation of shark hazard reduction plans by district police chiefs along the coast are a more realistic response to the threat.

So how real is the threat to Western Australia from great white sharks? According to the International Shark Attack File there have been 2 fatalities in Western Australia between 1876 and 2002 and 6 attacks. That's one death every 60 years and one non-fatal attack once every twenty years. With a current population of approximately 2 million, Western Australians stand a far better chance of winning the National Lottery than being attacked by a great white shark.




More links of interest
Swimming with sharks
International Shark Attack File - statistics on great white shark attacks in Australia


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