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rockmagnet said..
It's really all about money . If people and especially tourists are drawn to our netted beaches then the economy of the whole town benefits. If the perception is that certain beaches are prone to shark attacks because there are no nets then the dollar would go elsewhere.
Tourism is the life of the Gold Coast because people rightly or wrongly feel safe in the water because of the nets. The fact that sharks are still out there and I know they are because I have seen them. You see a lot on a stand up. But your average swimmer would not have a clue what they are swimming with especially when the bait fish are running.

A lot of negative press about business being effected by sharks in the Ballina area. But now this

www.northernstar.com.au/news/shark-fears-didnt-wreck-ballina-holiday-crowds-thi/2927260/

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rockmagnet said..
It's really all about money . If people and especially tourists are drawn to our netted beaches then the economy of the whole town benefits. If the perception is that certain beaches are prone to shark attacks because there are no nets then the dollar would go elsewhere.
Tourism is the life of the Gold Coast because people rightly or wrongly feel safe in the water because of the nets. The fact that sharks are still out there and I know they are because I have seen them. You see a lot on a stand up. But your average swimmer would not have a clue what they are swimming with especially when the bait fish are running.

Are there shark nets in popular Pacific Island or South American surf beaches? Does this stop tourists?

I don't think that argument passes muster - unless one's a politician in which case it would make perfect sense.

AFAIK there is no shark net at Copacabana, Rio but that doesn't stop the tourist trade. It's one of the world's busiest beaches.

Just keep clear of the stray narcoterrorism bullets.

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Loftywinds said..

evlPanda said..
And as for nets; they work. There hasn't been a fatality on a netted beach in Australia ever. Zero.

So that's really the premise of your posts, ain't it? That the nets "work".

Yeah they "work" but that's a fairly disastrous way of managing shark attacks, when they kill far more of everything else. And there are stats here in Townsville showing our drum lines have caught more dolphins and duggons than tiger sharks or crocs! But my point is the nets and drum-lines are synonymous. They are stealth killers of anything - even people if you happen to dive past one and get hooked by accident.

No. It's not the premise of my posts.

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evlPanda said...
And as for nets; they work. There hasn't been a fatality on a netted beach in Australia ever. Zero.

...

I'll listen to and agree that the nets are culling marine life indiscriminately, and unfairly, ditto shark culls, but while the nets can't ever be 100% effective they do actually work.

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Adriano said..
The investigations showed that there were still plenty of shark attacks in netted areas, but the difference is that medical assistance is far better than in the 1950's. For instance there have been many victims who have survived but would have died from blood loss had it not been for Medivac helicopters loaded with blood pouches and modern paramedic apparatus. That's a triumph of modern medics - not partially effective netting.

Those beaches were not netted. The attacks where the medivac had blood onboard.

Nets are now being added to some of those beaches (North Wall for example).

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It really does pay to listen to the whole story and not just focus on bits that support a particular viewpoint.

: |

Nets kill indiscriminately. They are inarguably a cull of marine creatures.

There have been zero, none, nada fatalities on netted beaches in Australia. They probably do something.

I'm only stating facts, not opinions. Personally I'm not sure what to do; both approaches suck for different reasons.

au.news.yahoo.com/massive-three-metre-tiger-shark-caught-near-popular-gold-coast-beach-30806232.html

A beautiful animal caught and killed indiscriminately by drum lines.. I was wondering if anyone could share the last fatality by a Tiger Shark in Australia was please

Meanwhile in the Bahamas.....
It's really just a case of educating yourself and showing some respect for the fact that the ocean is still thankfully a wild place. If you think sharks should be culled then educate yourself on in the importance of apex predators in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, we lose sharks we lose a lot more through trophic collapse. If you play in the ocean then educate yourself about shark behaviour as well as tides, rips, weather etc because only with that knowledge will you minimise the risks. I spend a lot of time in the water with sharks as do my family including daughters aged 8 and 11. We understand shark behaviour and do it under controlled conditions, their behaviour can be read like all other animals and it easy to protect yourself and not allow things to escalate if you act appropriately. I do not swim near river mouths with murky water, large fish aggregations or feeding events. I spearfish almost daily but not in sharky spots and only in good viz where I can see a shark coming on scene before it's too late. If I was spearing or surfing in areas where there are Great Whites I would use an electronic repellant, they work and do not attract sharks! I love sharks, they were around before trees and are the most highly evolved predator on the planet. I'll be the first to say they're not cute and cuddly because I've seen their potential. I carried a surfer to the ambulance after a GW bite in WA's South West and have witnessed 2 other minor bites during during shark feeding through lack of attention and respect. Shark interactions are one of the most zen amazing things you can do, people who want sharks dead simply not aware of the incredible experiences these animals offer and their line of thinking would see lions and tigers culled for the same reasons.
If you play in the ocean accept the risks and do something about it! Otherwise stick to something safer and leave it to those that love it for one of the few (ever diminishing) wild places we still have to explore.

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Gradient said..
Meanwhile in the Bahamas.....
It's really just a case of educating yourself and showing some respect for the fact that the ocean is still thankfully a wild place. If you think sharks should be culled then educate yourself on in the importance of apex predators in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, we lose sharks we lose a lot more through trophic collapse. If you play in the ocean then educate yourself about shark behaviour as well as tides, rips, weather etc because only with that knowledge will you minimise the risks. I spend a lot of time in the water with sharks as do my family including daughters aged 8 and 11. We understand shark behaviour and do it under controlled conditions, their behaviour can be read like all other animals and it easy to protect yourself and not allow things to escalate if you act appropriately. I do not swim near river mouths with murky water, large fish aggregations or feeding events. I spearfish almost daily but not in sharky spots and only in good viz where I can see a shark coming on scene before it's too late. If I was spearing or surfing in areas where there are Great Whites I would use an electronic repellant, they work and do not attract sharks! I love sharks, they were around before trees and are the most highly evolved predator on the planet. I'll be the first to say they're not cute and cuddly because I've seen their potential. I carried a surfer to the ambulance after a GW bite in WA's South West and have witnessed 2 other minor bites during during shark feeding through lack of attention and respect. Shark interactions are one of the most zen amazing things you can do, people who want sharks dead simply not aware of the incredible experiences these animals offer and their line of thinking would see lions and tigers culled for the same reasons.
If you play in the ocean accept the risks and do something about it! Otherwise stick to something safer and leave it to those that love it for one of the few (ever diminishing) wild places we still have to explore.

Wow Andy what shook your cage.. Great to have you posting, wind must still have you hunkered down

Please start a thread and show some of your amazing photos

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evlPanda said..

Adriano said..
The investigations showed that there were still plenty of shark attacks in netted areas, but the difference is that medical assistance is far better than in the 1950's. For instance there have been many victims who have survived but would have died from blood loss had it not been for Medivac helicopters loaded with blood pouches and modern paramedic apparatus. That's a triumph of modern medics - not partially effective netting.

Those beaches were not netted. The attacks where the medivac had blood onboard.

Nets are now being added to some of those beaches (North Wall for example).

It really does pay to listen to the whole story and not just focus on bits that support a particular viewpoint.

: |

Nets kill indiscriminately. They are inarguably a cull of marine creatures.

There have been zero, none, nada fatalities on netted beaches in Australia. They probably do something.

I'm only stating facts, not opinions. Personally I'm not sure what to do; both approaches suck for different reasons.

Not debating the fact that there have been zero fatalities on netted beaches. My point was clear. There have been plenty of attacks on netted beaches but the study found that it was medical assistance that made the difference between death and survival. The nets have some effect of course, but the real question is how much collateral sea life death and expense are we wiling to accept?

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jbshack said..

Gradient said..
Meanwhile in the Bahamas.....
It's really just a case of educating yourself and showing some respect for the fact that the ocean is still thankfully a wild place. If you think sharks should be culled then educate yourself on in the importance of apex predators in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, we lose sharks we lose a lot more through trophic collapse. If you play in the ocean then educate yourself about shark behaviour as well as tides, rips, weather etc because only with that knowledge will you minimise the risks. I spend a lot of time in the water with sharks as do my family including daughters aged 8 and 11. We understand shark behaviour and do it under controlled conditions, their behaviour can be read like all other animals and it easy to protect yourself and not allow things to escalate if you act appropriately. I do not swim near river mouths with murky water, large fish aggregations or feeding events. I spearfish almost daily but not in sharky spots and only in good viz where I can see a shark coming on scene before it's too late. If I was spearing or surfing in areas where there are Great Whites I would use an electronic repellant, they work and do not attract sharks! I love sharks, they were around before trees and are the most highly evolved predator on the planet. I'll be the first to say they're not cute and cuddly because I've seen their potential. I carried a surfer to the ambulance after a GW bite in WA's South West and have witnessed 2 other minor bites during during shark feeding through lack of attention and respect. Shark interactions are one of the most zen amazing things you can do, people who want sharks dead simply not aware of the incredible experiences these animals offer and their line of thinking would see lions and tigers culled for the same reasons.
If you play in the ocean accept the risks and do something about it! Otherwise stick to something safer and leave it to those that love it for one of the few (ever diminishing) wild places we still have to explore.

Wow Andy what shook your cage.. Great to have you posting, wind must still have you hunkered down

Please start a thread and show some of your amazing photos

Gorgeous story. Thanks mate.

According to that paper the last fatal attack in NSW was 2008...

and in WA was 2005

Bit has changed since those days huh

JB shack - 4 tiger shark fatalities for 2000- 2009 per that paper

I have and would again dive with sharks i can see. Its the one thats ambushing me while i float on the surface on my board that i worry about. Not enough evidence on the electronic devices when it come to big whites to use that as my feel happy potion either.

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Bara said..
JB shack - 4 tiger shark fatalities for 2000- 2009 per that paper

I think you've read that wrong. If your correct than it also says there has been 24 fatale attacks from Wobbegongs from 2000-2009

Its certainly and old report.

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jbshack said..

Bara said..
JB shack - 4 tiger shark fatalities for 2000- 2009 per that paper

I think you've read that wrong. If your correct than it also says there has been 24 fatale attacks from Wobbegongs from 2000-2009

Its certainly and old report.

"Only three shark species have been responsible for fatal attacks over the past 20 years. These were the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), with an increase from 24 incidents during the previous two decades to 55 incidents, including 15 fatalities, 23 injuries and 17 uninjured incidents, the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), with an increase from three incidents during the previous two decades to 25 incidents, including four fatalities, 15 injuries and six uninjured incidents, and the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), with a decrease from 14 incidents for the previous two decades down to 10 incidents, including three fatalities, two injuries and five uninjured incidents (Table 2)."

Yeah i read the wrong column - 4 tiger deaths in the previous 10 years to 99

Or 41 confirmed deaths from tigers in Australia over the study period (probably more due to the many non species specific deaths) Interesting thats the same number attributed to whites over the same period. ie equal most fatal shark species in oz

Tiger caused deaths seem to have dropped off in recent times and whites on the rise though - wonder why? Are there now nets where the tigers have attacked in the past I wonder?