14 DAY TRIAL // Towards the end of this year's January, drum lines were installed in the waters off Western Australia's coast, and soon enough fishermen started patrolling the shore looking to kill sharks that had been ill-inspired enough to try and snack on the bait laid out for them.
The shark cull is ongoing, and high officials expect that, by the time it is over, local waters will become much safer than they were said to be before the drum lines were set in place.
Conservationists, together with several wildlife researchers, disagree and argue that Western Australia's shark cull is not only cruel, but also very likely to cause serious damage to aquatic ecosystems.
In a blogpost published just yesterday, Sea Shepherd asks that people help convince Western Australia to drop plans to kill sharks that venture too close to its shoreline by telling the state's Environmental Protection Agency that this initiative is seriously flawed both environmentally- and morally-wise.
On its website, the organization details that people can offer feedback on the ongoing shark cull until February 20, and stresses the fact that, the more people comment on this initiative, the greater the chances that the Agency will intervene and put an end to it are.
“The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has referred the Shark Cull ‘policy’ with a consultation period from 12th February 2014 to 20th February 2014,” Sea Shepherd writes.
“The more submissions the EPA receives, the greater the chance of stopping the shark cull in its tracks. This public comment period provides the EPA with a rough gauge as to what the global community is feeling so they can determine an appropriate level of assessment,” it adds.
The green group explains that, as top predators, sharks are vital to the wellbeing of aquatic environments. Consequently, slaughtering them in large numbers, as Western Australia is now doing, can only have a negative impact on our seas and oceans.
“Sharks maintain the health and ecological balance of our oceans, removing the sick and the weak. They are the doctors of our oceans,” Sea Shepherd explains.
Furthermore, “How would we feel if all the doctors on land disappeared? We as a species face a future just as grim if we lose the doctors of the oceans.”
Those who wish to get involved and tell the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency that the state's shark cull is a bad idea can make a submission at Shark Drum Line Deployment, Management and Associated Services.