Another Shark in Perth area

[Bali Diver]

Whats going on in PERTH AREA another sad loss to shark attack R.I.P

http://www.thebalitimes.com/2012/07/14/australian-surfer-killed-by-shark/

---------- Post Merged at 08:08 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:49 PM ----------

A more detailed report and of previous incidents

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...sland-near-perth/story-e6frg6nf-1226425995168

 

[DandyDon]

Surfers are at greater risk with sharks since they stay on the surface. Divers not so much. Does this thread have anything to do with Dive Accidents?

 

[Bali Diver]

Does this thread have anything to do with Dive Accidents?

Wondered where to place thread.with it being a incident,then i thought here would be the place,if not,where !

 

[DevonDiver]

I don't see any particular relevance or benefit to divers from this news. It's been common knowledge for several decades that surfers are easily mistaken (in silhouette) for turtles or seals... which are a primary prey for large sharks.

Divers, especially when submerged, are rarely attacked through such confusion - which explains why shark attacks on divers are very low. The exception to that is when divers conduct spearfishing/underwater hunting within shark frequented areas. Attacks then occur because sharks are attracted by injured/killed fish and are in competition with the hunter for that food.

The only real lessons - dive, don't surf. Photograph, don't spearfish.

 

[Bali Diver]

I don't see any particular relevance or benefit to divers from this news. It's been common knowledge for several decades that surfers are easily mistaken (in silhouette) for turtles or seals... which are a primary prey for large sharks.

Divers, especially when submerged, are rarely attacked through such confusion - which explains why shark attacks on divers are very low. The exception to that is when divers conduct spearfishing/underwater hunting within shark frequented areas. Attacks then occur because sharks are attracted by injured/killed fish and are in competition with the hunter for that food.

The only real lessons - dive, don't surf. Photograph, don't spearfish.

There has been a unprecedented number of attacks in the area in last 2 years and 5 fatal attacks since last september,these have also included divers and have been following the tragic events and trying to think why especially as i am against the mass slaughter of sharks going on all around us and this does not help their cause.

The unprecedented amount of attacks in this area is strange and have been thinking why.I know the normal reasons you mentioned.

Sorry you don't see any relevance or benefit to divers regarding this,maybe should of placed thread in shark forum,maybe it can be moved there.

 

[Shot a man in Reno...]

I guess that this one is might be relevant then:

Great White Shark Off Australian Coast Threatens Divers (VIDEO)

 

[DevonDiver]

There has been a unprecedented number of attacks in the area in last 2 years and 5 fatal attacks since last september,these have also included divers and have been following the tragic events and trying to think why especially as i am against the mass slaughter of sharks going on all around us and this does not help their cause.

What are the statistics?

Quite often there is an 'unprecedented' amount of media interest, but not necessarily an unprecedented spike in the actual activity...

The unprecedented amount of attacks in this area is strange and have been thinking why.

It's hard to imagine any increases in shark-human interaction, given that shark populations are being decimated globally. It seems logical to think that scuh attacks would decrease, in proportion with declining shark numbers.

If shark attacks were increasing, despite declining shark populations, we probably need to look at reduced food sources causing increased desperation and competition amongst declining sharks. Over-fishing, especially of larger fish in the food chain, may contribute to that situation.

Sorry you don't see any relevance or benefit to divers regarding this,maybe should of placed thread in shark forum,maybe it can be moved there.

I don't see much 'learning benefit' for divers, which is the scope of this forum. That said, it raise a question mark in my head about actual attacks on divers. I'm wondering if there are statistics which show the risk to scuba divers, both with and without underwater hunting activities.

 

[ferris213]

Quite often there is an 'unprecedented' amount of media interest, but not necessarily an unprecedented spike in the actual activity...

I can't remember where but I heard that historically there was about one fatal shark attack in Australia every year. As the links said there has been 5 fatal attacks in the last 10 months. That's a pretty big spike, regardless of media attention.

One explanation aired was that humans are using the ocean differently than in the past. More access to remote locations and more people out in the water may account for the increased number of interactions.

Either way it is a terrible incident that must have been hugely traumatic for the witnesses, particularly the jet ski rider.

As I have said in the past, the idea of removing these animals from the endangered list and opening them up to commercial fishing is one that I really can't stand. A once off cull seems even more pointless. I would be surprised if anyone in the surfing or diving community supported these ideas.

I wonder if any of these guys were using the 'shark shield' devices?

 

[Kevster]

There appears to be a lot of sharky activity, especially in the last 2 weeks.There was a couple of near misses last week
1. 2 spearos got a close visit from a white pointer a little further north up the coast
2. A surfer on a perth beach was approached by another pointer a few days later.
3. Also the shark detection units along the city beaches detected a tagged pointer travelling up & down within 500 m of the local beaches.

Then unfotunately we had the attack at the weekend.
My opinion is there are more whales travelling up the coast these days and hence more sharks. For example last weekend there was a large Southern right whale less than 50 m from my local beach. I have never seen a large whale so close to shore.
At the moment white sharks are protected but i fear 1 more attack and the cull will start

 

[Griffo]

I wonder with the mining boom if there has been a large increase in the number of active water users. Lots of eastern states people migrating to Perth for the resources jobs, leading to a corresponding spike in the number of surfers, divers etc.