The Western Australian Government: Call off plan to cull sharks near WA beaches

The Western Australian Government: Call off plan to cull sharks near WA beaches

The Western Australian Government has announced a $6.85 million package of what it refers to as "shark mitigation strategies". $2 million will be allocated for the Department of Fisheries to track and destroy the sharks, while another $2 million will be spent specifically tracking great whites and setting drum lines to kill them if they come too close to shore.
The great white is a well known threatened species and this plan completely goes against the federal government's White Shark Recovery Plan, which recognizes that the great white shark is fully protected in both Commonwealth and WA waters. Needlessly removing sharks from our oceans would affect the delicate balance of the marine ecosystem, which could be ecologically and economically devastating. The ocean is the shark's natural habitat and humans are not naturally aquatic mammals. This scheme would not create a long term solution to shark fatalities and tax payer's money would be better put towards increased helicopter patrols, more research and better public education about avoiding shark hazards.