Great White Sharks must be protected

HSI Press Release:
HumaneSociety International’s (HSI) Campaign Director MichaelKennedy today expressed alarm that the WA Government should issue a“kill” order for the globally protected great white shark(GWS), following the tragic death of diver George Wainwright off RottnestIsland in Western Australia.

MrKennedy commented that, “Suggestions by gillnet fisherman thatthere has been definite increase in great white shark numbers is purefantasy, especially coming from an industry that has recently been exposedby HSI for killing dolphins and threatened Australian sea lions in itsnets.”


“Great white sharks have been protected in every stateand territory and at the Federal level in Australia since 1999, as a resultof HSI nominations for legal listings, following concerns about theirnational and international decline. The species is considered to be“vulnerable to extinction”, and there is absolutely no evidenceto suggest that great white sharks have experienced a surge innumbers,” said Mr. Kennedy.


Greatwhite sharks, like many sharks, are very, very slow to recover from thedepletion of their numbers, and although much effort has been put into theconservation of these threatened animals since their protection in 1999,much more needs to be done to reverse this decline. HSI was alsoinstrumental in gaining international protection for the GWS under twointernational treaties.


MrKennedy continued, “Issuing an order to kill is a completelypointless exercise, and as Regional Fisheries Manager TonyCappelluti pointed out, there is absolutely no way of knowing if it wasthe shark that killed George Wainwright. This uncertainty is highlighted inan interview with Australia's foremost white shark expert, BarryBruce from the CSIRO. Dr Bruce also made it clear that it ishighly improbable that the same shark is involved in all the recentkillings.

WAFisheries Minister Norman Moore stated that the Government had acted tomake the public feel safe, but recent history shows that those that havesurvived attacks, families who have lost loved-ones in such attacks, andthe public, are becoming far more tolerant and understanding of thesetragedies when they occur, acknowledging that entering GWS territory comeswith risks that are well-known to all.  They are not “roguekillers” as fisherman would want everyone to believe, but representincidents of GWS’s doing what they normally do in their ownenvironment.


CSIRO’s Dr Barry Bruce makes it plain that there isreally nothing more that can be done to minimise what is already anationally minimal risk situation. HSI would certainly oppose theimplementation of further shark net programs.

Mr.Kennedy concluded that, “As a member of the great white sharkand national shark recovery teams, HSI will be asking the Federal Ministerfor the Environment, who protects the great white shark nationally underthe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999, toensure that WA Government actions do not further threaten thisspecies.”