The debate around how best to approach the issue of shark attacks in Western Australia has become muddy in recent years with a change in government and no clear consensus on what will work.
The debate was compounded by two shark attacks in Western Australia on the same day, leading to the cancellation of the Margaret River Pro surf competition.
Jason Longgrass was bitten at Western Australia’s Lefthanders break at 3pm on Monday, just hours after another man was attacked at nearby Cobblestones break.
Alejandro Travaglini, 37, (pictured) was viciously attacked by a what is believed to be a four metre great white off Cobblestones Beach at Gracetown, about three hours south of Perth
Jason Longgrass was bitten at Western Australia’s Lefthanders break at 3pm on Monday, just hours after another man was attacked at nearby Cobblestones break
The horrific attack was caught on film as Mr Longgrass fought off the shark and made it to shore, he had suffered a bite to the leg but survived the attack.
On the same day father-of-two Alejandro Travaglini, 37, was viciously attacked by a what is believed to be a four metre great white off Cobblestones Beach at Gracetown, about three hours south of Perth.
He explained there had been a sighting of a shark earlier in the day but the group of surfers he was with were monitoring the water and thought it had gone.
The debate around how best to approach the issue of shark attacks in Western Australia has become muddy in recent years with a change in government and cancellation of a surf competition playing a part
‘It wasn’t until a fellow surfer yelled, ‘There it is,’ and began paddling for shore that Mr Travaglini began to do the same and, ‘Two seconds later I felt something grab my left leg, and the struggle began.’
‘The pain was not really the main concern then,’ Mr Travaglini told Seven News from hospital on Wednesday, adding, ‘I think survival mode kicked in.,’ he said.
In the wake of the attacks officials from the Margeret River Pro surfing competiton cancelled the reaminder of the event for safety reasons.
These recent events have lead some to fear it could negatively impact on Western Australian tourism but Deputy Premier Roger Cook said he doesn’t believe shark attacks in the state will have any real impact on tourism numbers.
Western Australian Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly (pictured) was an outspoken critic of the past government’s shark safety policy of ‘catch and kill’ and once he was in government put forward a new idea
‘Obviously there’s also been a certain amount of international social media around this. You might call that reputational damage, I don’t,’ he said.
Western Australian Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly was an outspoken critic of the past government’s shark safety policy of ‘catch and kill’ and once he was in government put forward a new idea.
While in opposition Mr Kelly mentioned ‘shark shields’ and a host of other measures which he believed were far more practical and less destructive than the catch and kill policy.
The main idea put forward was to use ‘SMART drumlines’ and instead of catching and killing, they would catch and tag sharks in order to keep track of their whereabouts ABC News reported.
Deputy Premier Roger Cook said he doesn’t believe shark attack numbers in the state will have any real impact on tourism numbers
The former Western Australian government’s ‘catch and kill’ policy after previous shark attacks was met with criticism from the opposition party and locals
While the idea is being considered Mr Kelly said the state government would wait on the outcome of a trial in New South Wales before committing to the ‘$10,000 a day’ program.
However Mr Kelly and the Labor government have been criticised for what some believe is a lack of action against the risk of shark attacks.
Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and WA Opposition Leader Mike Nahan both stated they believed the Western Australian state government was not being proactive enough in its approach.
All of this back and forth was compounded by two shark attacks in Western Australia on the same day, leading to the cancellation of the Margaret River Pro surf competition
‘The money should not be the issue for the Western Australian Government, they have sufficient funding available to follow the lead of the other states and to pay for it themselves,’ Mr Frydenberg said.
Deputy Premier Roger Cook shot back at the criticism’s saying he did not need any ‘sanctimonious lecturing from Canberra’ and said they had no idea about the situation being dealt with.
Only time will tell how a prevalence of shark attacks will impact the local and international tourism in Western Australia.