SOS: Save Our SharksWestern Australia Shark Cull

Amber Schwindling

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/08/world/asia/australia-shark-cull/

OutlineI. What is the W.A. shark cull?

II. W.A. shark attack records

III. Opposition

IV. Will it work?

V. Alternative Strategies

What is the W.A. shark cull?• State government policy of capturing and killing large sharks

by using baited drum lines• 3 month program• 72 drum lines across 200 km • Target: Great Whites, Bull sharks, and Tiger sharks• Caught: 172• Killed: 50

• Important to remember: shark attacks are random events!

Opposition • Activists removed bait from drum

lines• Protestors gathered on the beach

on two occasions ranging in the thousands

Will it work?• Theory: fishing close to popular swimming beaches

deceases local populations, thus reducing human interactions

• Evidence supports localized decline… but not in all species

• White sharks and tiger sharks are highly mobile

• No white sharks captured, mostly tiger sharks

• 70% of catch weren't large enough to be considered a threat or were bycatch

Alternative strategies• Satellite-linked shark tagging

• Personal shark protection– Electronic shark deterrents– Camouflage wetsuits

Questions?