RealSurf Surfers' Forum

ctd wrote:But it's not just surfers, it's the whole economy dependent on having swimable beaches

When was the last swimmer attacked up there?

You reckon the average person is going to say 'well, I know a surfer was attacked just 20m away from here, but I'm a swimmer so I'm totes safe.

Esp if no one is surfing

There are already plenty of stories about bookings down and holidays being cancelled

ctd wrote: There are already plenty of stories about bookings down and holidays being cancelled

the great paradox of the north coast surfer, huh?

every single one of those guys who voted for the cull at the monday night meeting have all complained about tourists and crowds and backpackers clogging in and around the point and bay and taking/ blowing their waves at some point.


now they're screaming out for them to come back?

nigga, please.

The cull vote would have been partly just a loud hyperbolic shout, not to insist on some death to sharks project, but just to get the attention of public authorities to take a little more practical interest in this important local public safety issue.

http://www.uq.edu.au/whale/abundance

Maybe it's not the sharks we should be culling.

Nah, whales are fcuken cool as man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndaXQeRPO0g

Poison the plankton, problem solved.

Here's my take on it Woolly. I can't see how a cull would make any difference. There's always sharks around, always will be.
To me there's no point even considering it.

.....just my ignorant two cents worth..... I have basically grown up with shark netting. We can always stop surfing.

Is there any evidence culling Sharks works?. And how do we identify which sharks to kill?, just the closest to the boat?

Beerfan wrote:Is there any evidence culling Sharks works?. And how do we identify which sharks to kill?, just the closest to the boat?

The W.A. cull was a disaster, financially, in a public relations sense, and in practical results. Not one single Pointer caught. 172 sharks caught, 68 "shot"
Nobody feels any safer.

Nick Carroll wrote:

woolly wrote:Some interesting reading in beachgrit.

"If you want to boil it down to a moral judgement, most people, having thought it through, have decided they value the lives of their friends over that of a shark."

Couldn't agree more.

yeah but are you happy about killing a big living creature, or like six or seven of them, so you can go for a surf in apparent safety, rather than wait a week till they've left the area?

Nobody's friends are in any danger at all from a shark if they're not in the water.

You can't bring that Japanese kid back by killing sharks.

We kill and eat hundreds of thousands of cattle, pigs, chickens, etc, animals that don't even even threaten us.

Nobody's friends are in any danger at all from a car accident if they're not on a road.
Nobody's friends are in any danger at all from a plane crash if they're not on a plane.
Etc.

Shark attacks, like plane crashes and traffic accidents, occur all year round. Also, its very difficult to spot a shark in the majority of situations, and most of the time there is no surveillance in any case.

Obviously you can't resurrect someone (well, mostly) but you can minimise the chances of another fatality.

In South Africa they have "shark spotters " at a few beaches who fly different coloured flags to signal clear vis no sharks , bad vis no sharks or , shark spotted !
Heard someone on radio suggest using drones with image detectors that could pick out potential shark presence ?
Sounds logical to me . Only have it at a few beaches and one can choose safety level then .

Drones are fine if they pack a punch and can be controlled (and if the ethics committee can agree! )!

I mean this kind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEby9OkePpg

Well here's my list of names for The Ballina 7

The Bald Man
Piglet
The Sac
Barty B Bag
Greggie
Fat Nart
Runt The Cnut.

Beerfan wrote:Is there any evidence culling Sharks works?. And how do we identify which sharks to kill?, just the closest to the boat?

Yes, Sydney, Durban and the Gold Coast, that I know of, spectacularly successful at all three.

Netting generally picks up those sharks that are setting up a local patrol area as these have greater odds of being caught. Big by catch problem though.

A better method might be to license the catching of set species and numbers for specific zones.

Cranked wrote:

Beerfan wrote:Is there any evidence culling Sharks works?. And how do we identify which sharks to kill?, just the closest to the boat?

Yes, Sydney, Durban and the Gold Coast, that I know of, spectacularly successful at all three.

Netting generally picks up those sharks that are setting up a local patrol area as these have greater odds of being caught. Big by catch problem though.

A better method might be to license the catching of set species and numbers for specific zones.

So after these culls, has there been zero shark attacks since, in those places ?

In Sydney waters 55 fatalities before netting, none in last 50+ years.

In Durban none since netting commenced, plenty in other places, see http://www.stopsharkcagediving.com/sout ... k_file.htm

None for the Gold Coast since drum lines were introduced