The goal is to reduce public anxiety over shark attacks, officials explain

Dec 27, 2013 08:28 GMT  ·  By
Sharks longer than 3 meters than come too close to beaches in Western Australia will be "humanely destroyed"
   Sharks longer than 3 meters than come too close to beaches in Western Australia will be "humanely destroyed"

Over the past two years, six people either swimming or surfing in the waters off Western Australia’s coast passed away after being attacked by sharks.

These run-ins between surfers or swimmers and sharks have sparked quite a lot of public anxiety, which is why local officials have decided that it might not be such a bad idea to implement a short-term shark-management strategy.

According to The Guardian, Australia’s government plans to kill sharks that measure more than 3 meters (9.8 feet) in length and which are ill-inspired enough to come closer than 1 kilometer (0/62 miles) to Western Australia’s most popular beaches.

More precisely, 72 drum lines are to be installed along beaches in Western Australia that attract many swimmers and surfers, the same source details.

These drum lines will be fitted with baited hooks, and are to attract sharks swimming in these waters. All things considered, other animals will probably find the bait appealing as well.

Once installed, the drum lines will be inspected once every twelve hours on a daily basis until April 2014, when they are expected to be removed.

Of the animals inhabiting Western Australia’s coast that get caught in the 72 drum lines, white sharks, tiger sharks and bull sharks that are longer than 3 meters will be killed in a humane way.

Specifically, they will be shot. Their bodies will then be tagged, carried out at sea and disposed of.

High officials in Australia stress that, when possible, the other animals that will get caught in the drum lines will be freed and allowed to go their way.

Although the government is confident that this shark management strategy will help reduce the number of attacks on humans in Western Australia, conservationists and some specialists doubt that the move will prove successful.

“If the point is to symbolically kill a protected species for political gain then it will be successful, but if the point is to protect the public from sharks this policy will likely be a failure,” specialist Christopher Neff explains.

“The assumption would need to be that all of the sharks that are attracted are caught in the drum lines. But this is not the case. In Hawaii when they set long lines to prevent shark bites for nearly 20 years they found that it had no effect on reducing the rate of shark bites,” he adds.