Tiger Shark killed near Coolum why?

[Axl]

This article was in the Courier Mail this morning http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/m-500kg-tiger-shark-caught-near-coolum-on-the-sunshine-coast-within-400-metres-of-swimmers-on-yaroomba-beach-onguardians-keep-beaches-safe-swimmers-frolic-in-surf-while-monster-caught-metres-away/story-e6freoof-1226552717573 apparently a pregnant female and they killed it, what for what did it do? absolutely disgusting IMO.

[Feral]

Why? Why not. Thats what the nets and drum lines are for, getting rid if sharks.

[Axl]

Why? Why not. Thats what the nets and drum lines are for, getting rid if sharks.

Yeah I understand that and as it says in the article

"Fisheries Queensland's Shark Control Program manager Jeff Krause said there had been only one shark fatality at a shark control beach in Queensland since the program was launched"

which is no doubt a good thing, but such a majestic animal as that one WAS surely they could have cut the rope and let it go.

[Moonlighter]

You are not making sense.

On the one hand you seem to acknwledge that the shark program, which catches and removes dangerous sized sharks is working, then, you ask why they didn't release this large shark.

Hello! Thats the whole point of the program! Releasing it alive would be totally contrary to that aim.

Now, go and have a cool drink and a lie down. The heat must be getting to you!::) you are starting to turn a nasty shade of green.......

[Axl]

You are not making sense.

On the one hand you seem to acknwledge that the shark program, which catches and removes dangerous sized sharks is working, then, you ask why they didn't release this large shark.

Hello! Thats the whole point of the program! Releasing it alive would be totally contrary to that aim.

Now, go and have a cool drink and a lie down. The heat must be getting to you!::) you are starting to turn a nasty shade of green.......

49.6 deg out here yesterday, the hottest temp recorded in Aus in 15 years, only a measly 43.9 ATM but still plenty of day light hours to go yet:P.

You are right Moonlighter the heat is getting to me, but it will never turn me green;).

I just reckon that a big shark like that could have been let go, it didnt do anything to anyone.

[charleville]

I feel a bit sorry for the shark also. It was a nice looking shark.

Still, the meshing program has done what is is meant to do.


.

[MEG-A-BITE]

Seems that big sharks are getting in closer to the beach.Must be abundance of bait and game fish around.

[Still_Dreamin]

I sort of get what axl is getting at. At nearly 5m she was fairly old. There is no evidence she had or intended to do anything wrong. Killed just because she was a shark. Maybe all males near or at beaches should be arrested to prevent rape. We all have the right gear and surely it will stop one rape somewhere. Buses, bee stings, doctors etc etc all kill more people than shark attacks. Especially if you live on the east coast, those great whites in WA have been being hard to even the score. Having said all that i won't be shedding any tears into my beer over her. The cricket is making me do that.

[Moonlighter]

On a related note, i saw comments in that article or another similar one to the effect that made me wonder whether some scientists are really so biased its unbelieveable.

We all get their view that sharks are endangered rammed down our throats all the time. Yet, go out into the ocean say, off Fraser Island, and i wouldnt want to swim out there for very long!

Now, due to the incontrivertable evidence of the abundance of sharks in coastal areas around cities, greeny scientists are postulating a new theory that sharks might be changing their habits and congregating in these areas.

Hello! There is another explaination, you blind, biased greeny scientists! And that, of course, is that the vast majority of shark species, at least in this part of the world, are NOT endangered or low in numbers and in fact are doing just fine.

But no, do they even consider or mention that possibility? Of course not, because it doesnt fit with their preconceived position of all sharks being endangered, worldwide.

When the Grey Nurse Shark debate was beginning, there was one EPA scientist in Qld who said that the GNS live in water up to 40m deep only.

Why we asked? Because that was the max depth they had been seen in, she said.

When it was pointed out to her that the majority of scuba divers only dived to that depth, and that might be the reason the GNs hadnt been seen in deeper waters, she refused to accept it.

So an experienced deep water navy diver went out to "Spot X" in about 80m of water, videoed a huge shoal of GNS, panned to his dive depth gauge showing 80m, and showed it to that scientist, who still would not believe it.

You can only think this was because the evidence didnt fit her preconceived view of things.

And this sort of research is still the basis for conclusions that GNS numbers are still so low they are endangered.

And they wonder why us fishermen dont believe them.

Axl, you shouldnt worry too much about Tiger sharks. There are plenty of them out there. Next time you are out off Cucumber Point on Peel Island, berley up for a while with some oily tuna, and you will soon get a big striped visitor. The only problem is, you might not see her, but she is there!

[Daryl McPhee]

Here is my report from last year on shark mitigation in WA.

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/occasional_publications/fop108.pdf

[tunaticer]

Whilst I accept that the shark control program took this animal as part of it's charter of operations, I would have a large objection if that animal was part of a thrill kill or sport kill for some form of glory or heroics.
Many times I have come across young lads out for the thrill of shark fishing, but when they do not either release it or eat it I get the shits and speak up. The perceived threat a shark delivers to humans is far removed from reality and those sharks serve a greater purpose in the environment than the need to kill them off.

I also wondered about the coverage of this animals capture and demise, and the boat in the background on one of the images. There are questions in those images.

[Si]

Why? Why not. Thats what the nets and drum lines are for, getting rid if sharks.

why not? - they have a high bycatch killing turtles, manta rays, dolphins etc They dont really stop sharks moving up on a beach as they quite easily go around or under the net. all they do is kill alot of animals and provide a false sense of security. It's a political game of bs where people want to be seen about doing something after someone gets hurt. It's quite archaic and neanderthal mentality that we must kill these 'monster' 'menacing sharks' really.

[Feral]

Yep I'm a knuckle dragger, no green around my gills.
Thats why I'm not to worried about the possession limits of one shark, after I catch it and hit it on the head and let it go, I'm not in possession of it anymore and can freely catch another!

[Lucky_Phill]

Thing is.... if this was not covered by the media ( read ,Green Propaganda outlet ) we would be none the wiser.

My beef is with the media and who controls what we see, read and hear.

The influence held over the general populas by Media is staggering and if the same attention was given to Recreational Fishing, we'd see a world class fishery from an environment, tourism, education, health and bio-mass perspective.

Try contacting Brian Williams...... environmental reporter from the Courier Mail and tell him you are a recreational fisher with concerns.......... the silence will deafen you.


LP

[rayken1938]

definitely should have released it.Bit of luck it may have eaten fisheries minister and that would have also killed the shark. 2 birds with one stone.
Cheers
Ray

[Black_Rat]

I'd like to see the "By-catch" of these nets :)
If a pregnant turtle had been caught would we have a story ?......... no

We'd have a story from the CM on Turtle fishing boat strikes in Moreton Bay ! Oh dear ::)

[QuinTin]

lest i wont be its next meal bit of a shame for the old girl but its not the first shark to ever be caught and wont be the last i am sure but do agree to disagree with it but life goes on .

[Fillet`n`Release]

I'd be more concerned about the men in grey suits that run our state parliament. They're more likely to take an arm or a leg (metaphorically speaking at least) than that poor shark probably was. It's their domain, very much over the excuse "it's a big shark, it might eat someone, lets kill it".

[theoldlegend]

I'd like to see the "By-catch" of these nets :)
If a pregnant turtle had been caught would we have a story ?......... no

We'd have a story from the CM on Turtle fishing boat strikes in Moreton Bay ! Oh dear ::)

How true! How true!


TOL

[MudRiverDan]

I was at KingsCliff the other day and it was blowing 35kmh winds, I took the rod out to the end of the wall and wasted a few hours getting some sea blast and fresh air, watching the manta rays and catching the obligatory stingray and sweep.

Tide was going out and there was a young kid on a board swimming in the waves just in front of the mouth and out a bit.

Don't know a whole lot about sharks but in that sort of murky brown water out flowing from a river I would not be swimming there.

As for the shark, very unfortunate occurrence.

Dan

[rabbi]

My son in karratha reckons the crocs are eating the turtles over there.8-)

One shark gets the chop so to protect the people on the beaches and everyone goes "awwwww poor shark"! What about the longliners killing thousands of them just to cut the fins off and toss the rest back in the drink.

Then when someone does get bitten, or worse suddenly theres a posse out to get the " Killer shark"

Damned if you do, Damned if you dont!

The biggest mistake was they publicised it.

And as far as the sharks go theres plenty around Ballina and thats one of the reasons I dont get in the water much anymore.

But having said that, I dont keep or kill any sharks I catch to leave dead carcasses washing around and they have no use to me. My choice.
Cheers, steve.

[netmaker]

i live by a policy an old bloke once told me. i keep out of their bathtub and they keep out of mine. easy arrangement and has worked well so far...

[no chicken tonight]

Shark populations are very healthy in Oz. They are not targeted by the wider fishing community, and are well protected with size limits etc. Nets and drum lines are used ONLY in specific areas to protect us from potentially dangerous sharks. They do have a VERY SMALL number of by catch.
GET OVER IT

[tunaticer]

Shark populations are very healthy in Oz.

Tell that the the surveys on grey nurse numbers along the seaboard and hopefully they will agree with you and remove all those stupid greenzones.

[daveo17]

must have been a slow news day.

[goat boy]

I was at KingsCliff the other day and it was blowing 35kmh winds, I took the rod out to the end of the wall and wasted a few hours getting some sea blast and fresh air, watching the manta rays and catching the obligatory stingray and sweep.

Tide was going out and there was a young kid on a board swimming in the waves just in front of the mouth and out a bit.

Don't know a whole lot about sharks but in that sort of murky brown water out flowing from a river I would not be swimming there.

As for the shark, very unfortunate occurrence.

Dan

Young kid got taken like that at Ballina in similar circumstances a few years ago, crossing the mouth etween the walls in murky water after rain.

[rayken1938]

I'd like to see the "By-catch" of these nets :)
If a pregnant turtle had been caught would we have a story ?......... no
)
Would definitely make worldwide headlines . Turtles lay eggs ;
You could let them go and end up like this.
88168
Cheers
Ray

[Crunchy]

All sharks caught in the SCP are killed and dumped at sea, they are not released. There are between 600 and 700 sharks caught and killed each year as part of the program. Info easy to find on the DPI website.

[mattooty]

Young kid got taken like that at Ballina in similar circumstances a few years ago, crossing the mouth etween the walls in murky water after rain.

He was actually bodyboarding not far from the shore on the beach. Murky conditions, sure, but not between the mouth.

[nathank]

Yep I'm a knuckle dragger, no green around my gills.
Thats why I'm not to worried about the possession limits of one shark, after I catch it and hit it on the head and let it go, I'm not in possession of it anymore and can freely catch another!

Glad your in the minority mate.. Most people that love fishing also have a love for the environment in which we fish..

[BeastMaster]

The drum line set 400m off the beach did what it was designed to do - keepour beaches a little safer.
As for turtles caught up in shark nets and lines =>If only the poor odd turtles could talk - I'd recon they'd be happy about that result.I wonder how many turtles she'd knocked off in the last ten years.1 per month x12x10 =120 probably feasible for such a shark. who knows? maybe a lot lot more.
Pity it ventured in so close looking for food - an incredible creature.
At the end of the day - better it than a person.
Mental note : dont fall out of the boat!!

[Black_Rat]

Would definitely make worldwide headlines . Turtles lay eggs ;
You could let them go and end up like this.
88168
Cheers
Ray

Yeah they lay eggs all over our bloody beaches ! ::)
So said Turtle gets caught in a net with a set off eggs, is she pregnant ? or just doing a turtle egg smuggling run ? ;D

Stop the Eggs ! ;D
\

[Richo1]

1292 people died on Australian roads in 2011 - makes the shark attack statistics look pretty lame. Since 1791 a mere 685 people have been attacked by sharks with 201 being killed.
Those statistics may be low because of shark nets and baited drums, if so they are doing their job well.
We should be netting and baiting the roads more!

[Axl]

Firstly thanks for all the replies there has been some interesting point of views put across in this thread. I must admit when I started this I was struggling to understand why they would kill a magnificent shark like that, whilst I understood what the SCP was all about at the time I thought that they could have cut the line and let that big one go. However having said that as this thread has evolved I can now see that the SCP simply doesn’t work that way, It was a pity as BeastMaster said that she ventured in close looking for food.

As I said earlier I am not a greeny by any stretch of the imagination and maybe the heat was getting to me that day (thanks Moonlighter), however I do have plenty of respect for the environment I fish in as nathank mentioned. I don’t need to get over it and I didn’t nor will I shed any tears, I have lived within a stone’s throw of Moreton Bay my whole life my dad owned boats for many years as I now have. In that time I’ve come across many sharks whilst enjoying the local waterways, some big some small and plenty in between most of the time cutting the line after a good battle or being bitten off in the process so believe me I understand just what is out there.

BTW I see no sense in hitting them on the head before letting them go so I can catch another but hey that’s just me.

I think the comments LP and rabbi made about media coverage were spot on, this no doubt happens quit often but we just don’t hear about it, the fact that this particular catch was published in the paper brought it to everyone’s attention. Did you read the comments after the story? There were plenty of them mostly form p!##ed off people disgusted that the big girl was killed.

I find it interesting that when there is a attack resulting in a death the authorities will go on the hunt for the offending shark, however more often than not the family and friends of the victim come forward and state that they do not wont the animal harmed. They say their relative/friend died doing what he/she loved doing and it was not the sharks fault, as we are the ones who are in there back yard. That must be a very difficult thing to do after having just lost a loved one but you seem to here it a lot after fatal attacks.

As I said it sure has been an interesting read and I suspect there will be more to come, netmaker I like your policy and I think I will adopt a similar one and add BeastMaster's mental note to it.

PS: Daryl Mcphee Ive started reading you report mate plenty of info in it thanks for the link, I hope to finish it on nighshift.

[Daryl McPhee]

Thanks Axl. I have been preparing a broader paper looking at fatal shark attacks globally.

[sacman]

We are being both ignorant and arrogant if we think that we can damage the sensitive oceanic environment by setting drum lines that do what they are designed to do - ie kill large sharks. The future impact of targeting and killing off these magnificent top predators could well outweigh the relatively small impact that these predators currently have on the human population. Future generations may well regret our current actions ....

[Crunchy]

The number of sharks caught in protective nets off Sunshine Coast beaches increased dramatically last year, compared to 2010.
Figures released yesterday by Maritime Safety Queensland revealed a 68 per cent lift in net captures, with 99 sharks caught in 2011 compared to 59 in 2010.
Of the sharks caught, 49 measured two metres or more - an increase of 24 from 2010.
The sharks were caught in protective nets or drumlines, which line Coast beaches acting as a barrier between sharks and the shoreline.
Advertisement <iframe id="dcAd-1-4" src="http://ad-apac.doubleclick.net/adi/onl.bt.news/national/queensland;cat1=queensland;cat=national;ctype=arti cle;pos=3;sz=300x250;tile=4;ord=9.2444169E7?" width='300' height='250' scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"> </iframe>
Maritime Safety Queensland, which monitors the nets, said there was no specific reason for the increase.
Read more at the Sunshine Coast Daily. (http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2012/01/19/net-increase-in-the-number-of-sharks/)


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/sunshine-coast-shark-captures-rise-68-20120119-1q77w.html#ixzz2I7TDGGLc

[Slider]

Not sure which paper I read the article Crunchy, but a shark researcher stated in the article that large predatory fish and sharks have been drawn inshore due to the high rainfall.

Nutrient delivery in stream rises causes healthy plankton spawning which draws baitfish to spawn which draws predatory fish and sharks - just the way it works.

So there is a reson for the spike, but we won't be seeing any more spikes like that for a while if the current rainfall trend continues.

BTW - sharks and dolphins have learnt to hang around fishing vessels for a feed. So the numbers of sharks we see from our fishing vessels is not representative of the population as a whole.

[Axl]

Care to make comment ontourf?

[TimiBoy]

We have protected sharks to the nth degree, yet wring our hands when someone gets eaten. Greenies. Go figure. Should be fed to the damn sharks.

My Cousin was eaten by one. It's why I don't swim in the Sea - damn good reason I reckon.

[Axl]

From the Courier Mail today, a story on one that slipped through the net so to speak.......... http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bull-shark-inside-swimming-enclosure-at-macleay-island-in-moreton-bay/story-e6freoof-1226557288282

[tunaticer]

I think if you looked at the figures there are more people killed by thier pet dogs than even shark nibbles per year.

[tunaticer]

From the Courier Mail today, a story on one that slipped through the net so to speak.......... http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bull-shark-inside-swimming-enclosure-at-macleay-island-in-moreton-bay/story-e6freoof-1226557288282

If that swimming enclosure is what it appears to be (a bait net) any reasonable fish can lift the anchor line and push through underneath. If that is the councils excuse for a swimming enclosure, they should be exposed and shamed for their efforts.

[MudRiverDan]

Sharks eat turtles, so maybe the area looked just too good not to drop in for a turtle or two.
The preservation of one animal is the preservation of another animals food and sharks being an apex predator will more than likely be turning up to the dinner table a bit more often.

Just make sure its not yr foot their chewing on. 8-)

Dan

[macka17]

Hey.

The water is THEIR environment. We are the intruders. They were around long b4 the little vermin we call humans were.
Pity they don't eat a few more of them (humans) in my eyes. we got plenty of shit out there would make real good shark bait.
I know a few I wouldn't mind trolling for shark. Even put a cut or two in them first.
It's only a bit of payback anyway when one of ém gets one of us. We've killed\kill more than they ever could of us.
Why whinge..
.You go in any seawater you instantly become part of the food chain, and not the top of it either.
Remember that.