Dug
07-12-2004, 05:30 PM
From the Gold Coast Bulletin today, the front page story on sharks being caught in local canals.
http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/news/news.htm
Canal shark danger
6Dec04
DEADLY bull sharks are being hauled from local canals every night as the State Government begins a summer campaign to stop people swimming in the city's vast waterways network.
The shark attack warning came as Australia's best female surf lifesavers were ordered from the water at Tugun after being menaced by a 1.5m tiger shark.
The increase in shark numbers has prompted maritime authorities to warn of the dangers of swimming in the canals, less than two years after two swimmers were stalked and killed by bull sharks.
Saeed Granfar catches sharks for a hobby, landing up to three aggressive bull sharks a night as he fishes the Gold Coast canals.
Most of the sharks he hooks are 1m to 1.5m long, but the 21-year-old Benowa Waters resident has seen 3m to 4m monsters cruising the tranquil waters of the canals.
He has been catching sharks in the same canals since he was 15 and has a chilling warning as the hot weather descends on the Coast.
"The summer is definitely better, there are more around, but you can still catch them in winter," said the QUT architecture student.
Gold Coast man Beau Martin was killed by a shark in December 2002, and six weeks later former champion lawn bowler Bob Purcell was fatally mauled, both of them while swimming in Coast canals.
Their deaths sparked warnings from authorities to stay out of the canals, but little has been done to cull the bull shark population in the residential waters.
"I have been regularly catching bull sharks from our jetty for about six years now," said Mr Granfar.
"Last month we caught three in one night and narrowly missed out on landing two more due to the poor gaffing skills of my friends.
"This is not an uncommon experience and it is very likely you could catch many more than that on any given night, particu-larly now that the weather is warming up."
Mr Granfar and his friends use a double hook baited with eel.
At one stage, he would 'guarantee' a shark catch to any friends who would accompany him.
"It's what my friends and I do. Instead of going to clubs and stuff, we catch sharks," he said.
"We eat them as well.
"My mum usually does the cooking and I do the gutting. We have a system."
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries will launch a radio campaign during the next few weeks to highlight the dangers of canal swimming.
The department's shark control manager, Baden Lane, said a shark cull was not an option, nor was installing copious amounts of signage.
"You have 90km of canals, so trying to cull the sharks is simply impossible. It is not an option," he said.
Mr Lane said swimmers had a greater chance of being attacked by a shark in the canals than in the open ocean.
"Sharks are in canals all year round and you can safely assume that their numbers have steadily increased," he said.
"People should not be swimming in the canals but, if they do, they should avoid daybreak, dusk, overcast days and even during the middle of the day."
Local fishing expert Paul Burt said bull sharks were not only aggressive but unpredictable.
"They are totally and utterly unpredictable," he said.
"The bull sharks are also called spinners because when they jump out of the water they spin through the air," he said.
"Nine times out of 10 when you see something break the surface in the canals it will be a bull shark."
Mr Burt said the bull shark was very inquisitive and would nudge small boats or kayaks.
At Tugun yesterday, the country's best female lifesavers were stopped from re-entering the water after officials in rubber duckies spotted a 1.5m tiger shark near competitors.
The ironwomen were about to start their swim leg when carnival referee Denis Mathison, from the Marcoola club, moved in to stop ski paddlers as they reached the beach.
"Crews from two rubber ducks radioed that they had seen the shark near the Apex swimming can, so we had no option but to stop the race," said Mr Mathison.
"They lost sight of the shark, but we had a duty of care and we were not going to take any risks.
"We asked the ironmen if they wanted to race, and they did, so the carnival proceeded
http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/news/news.htm
Canal shark danger
6Dec04
DEADLY bull sharks are being hauled from local canals every night as the State Government begins a summer campaign to stop people swimming in the city's vast waterways network.
The shark attack warning came as Australia's best female surf lifesavers were ordered from the water at Tugun after being menaced by a 1.5m tiger shark.
The increase in shark numbers has prompted maritime authorities to warn of the dangers of swimming in the canals, less than two years after two swimmers were stalked and killed by bull sharks.
Saeed Granfar catches sharks for a hobby, landing up to three aggressive bull sharks a night as he fishes the Gold Coast canals.
Most of the sharks he hooks are 1m to 1.5m long, but the 21-year-old Benowa Waters resident has seen 3m to 4m monsters cruising the tranquil waters of the canals.
He has been catching sharks in the same canals since he was 15 and has a chilling warning as the hot weather descends on the Coast.
"The summer is definitely better, there are more around, but you can still catch them in winter," said the QUT architecture student.
Gold Coast man Beau Martin was killed by a shark in December 2002, and six weeks later former champion lawn bowler Bob Purcell was fatally mauled, both of them while swimming in Coast canals.
Their deaths sparked warnings from authorities to stay out of the canals, but little has been done to cull the bull shark population in the residential waters.
"I have been regularly catching bull sharks from our jetty for about six years now," said Mr Granfar.
"Last month we caught three in one night and narrowly missed out on landing two more due to the poor gaffing skills of my friends.
"This is not an uncommon experience and it is very likely you could catch many more than that on any given night, particu-larly now that the weather is warming up."
Mr Granfar and his friends use a double hook baited with eel.
At one stage, he would 'guarantee' a shark catch to any friends who would accompany him.
"It's what my friends and I do. Instead of going to clubs and stuff, we catch sharks," he said.
"We eat them as well.
"My mum usually does the cooking and I do the gutting. We have a system."
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries will launch a radio campaign during the next few weeks to highlight the dangers of canal swimming.
The department's shark control manager, Baden Lane, said a shark cull was not an option, nor was installing copious amounts of signage.
"You have 90km of canals, so trying to cull the sharks is simply impossible. It is not an option," he said.
Mr Lane said swimmers had a greater chance of being attacked by a shark in the canals than in the open ocean.
"Sharks are in canals all year round and you can safely assume that their numbers have steadily increased," he said.
"People should not be swimming in the canals but, if they do, they should avoid daybreak, dusk, overcast days and even during the middle of the day."
Local fishing expert Paul Burt said bull sharks were not only aggressive but unpredictable.
"They are totally and utterly unpredictable," he said.
"The bull sharks are also called spinners because when they jump out of the water they spin through the air," he said.
"Nine times out of 10 when you see something break the surface in the canals it will be a bull shark."
Mr Burt said the bull shark was very inquisitive and would nudge small boats or kayaks.
At Tugun yesterday, the country's best female lifesavers were stopped from re-entering the water after officials in rubber duckies spotted a 1.5m tiger shark near competitors.
The ironwomen were about to start their swim leg when carnival referee Denis Mathison, from the Marcoola club, moved in to stop ski paddlers as they reached the beach.
"Crews from two rubber ducks radioed that they had seen the shark near the Apex swimming can, so we had no option but to stop the race," said Mr Mathison.
"They lost sight of the shark, but we had a duty of care and we were not going to take any risks.
"We asked the ironmen if they wanted to race, and they did, so the carnival proceeded