Shark attack!

[kaibo 开 博]

Shark attack fears after damaged bathers found off Perth's Cottesloe beach


    By Ashlee Mullany
    Perth Now
    October 11, 2011 12:00PM

    Hopes of finding swimmer alive fade after bather's (swimming trunks) discovery
    Marks "consistent with that a white pointer shark could cause''


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/man-missing-off-cottesloe-beach/story-e6frfkvr-1226163485333#ixzz1aQapkmuo

In 2000 a guy called Ken Crew lost his life to a Great White shark at the same location from where the latest assumed attack occured. It is one of the most popular early morning swimming spots on local Perth Beaches. The bite marks on the bathers - reportedly identified as belonging to the missing man - are consistent with about a 3-metre Great White. It is reported that he was one of the swimmers that regularly swim around a buoy that is situated some four-hundred metres offshore.

 In respect of the sea, I am a surfer, an open ocean swimmer, a keen 'boatee', offshore fisherman and snorkeller; but swimming 400 meteres out from the shore around an offshore buoy is crazy. I will jump off a boat in clear waters but swimming blindly over the black-reef waters off Cottosloe is scary. I have always feared that kind of swim, so I naturally avoid it. I have surfed, swum & snorkelled on the reefs here since I was a teenager though.

The confirmed shark that attacked the female diver off Garden Island in Perth last summer or so was a 3-metre Great White as well. She was a professional diver & survived the attack.

I state again - it is time to slaughter Great Whites & take dominion over the seas again. Since when does a shark have greater rights than someone's dad who has swum at that beach since he was a kid, paid his taxes to upkeep the beach & is an Australian by birthright? The shark is not Australian, it is a foreign invader from international waters.

 Interesting argument, don't you think? As a radio announcer just stated on Perth radio, (via internet) if a dog attacked & bit a person, that dog by law will be killed. This foolish argument is a farce propagated by the same pig-headed kind of fools who oppose the death penalty for murdering criminals. I feel like promoting the breaking of the law by inciting the catching of Great Whites & then blowing their brains out with a shotgun on film. This is a life of another much-loved I highly successful family man, not an innate fish with a pea sized brain. I say, it is time for the hunted to become the hunters again.

Shark expert Dr Jim Penn said authorities were reluctant to kill the white pointer, a protected species, and would prefer to drive it back out to sea. He said it was highly unlikely the shark would attack a human again. ``White pointers are commonly seen at around this time of year as they follow humpback whales and their calves migrating from the northern breeding grounds to the southern waters," Dr Penn said.

This was the response of an expert after the 2000 fatal attack at the same beach. That response is proving unfounded with increasing number of sightings & attacks off Perth & numerous other deaths in West Australian waters. The thing is that most of the surrounding beaches don't have the black reef, they are sandy bottomed beaches. Cottosloe beach is different. It sits in the middle of beautiful sandy beaches and is a large delta-shaped reef that forms the shoreline & the undersea terrain also. It is - 'black water' - interspersed with sandy bottom coves in the reef. It is in my expectation, an undersea predators' paradise & hunting ground. I have also sighted penguins, seals & whales in that location whilst surfing or boating. Along with whales & seals, penguins are also a target of the Great White.

I might add also, the Three-Mile Reef extends to be directly offshore from Cottosloe. Great whites and tiger sharks are both known to follow the three-mile down the coast. The reef then breaks up so the sharks will then disperse and follow the scent they pick up. Cottosloe is a favoured haunt of fishermen and they generally burley the water almost everyday from shore. Of course great whites follow the burley trail of scented fish oils into the beach & whammo - if a swimmer or surfer is in the wrong place he or she becomes breakfast.

[Aussie Mike]

This is one of my favourite fishing spots.


I've hooked up some big fish and ray here as well as buckets of tailor, whiting, skippy and herring.
Occassionally one of us would hook a shark landing some of the smaller ones.

That pylon was the corner anchor of the sharked off area.  It was destroyed in a cyclone and never replaced.

[Bavarian]

I found this article on www.web.de and kinda found it fitting into this discussion of whipping out animals.
http://web.de/magazine/nachrichten/panorama/13939512-australierin-beim-gassi-gehen-von-kaenguru-angefallen.html

It says that Janet Karson of Perth was attacked by a kangaroo while going out with her dog.
After the two animals got into a little fight, Mrs. Karson tried to seperat them with a stick, but unfortunately, the kangaroo attacked her also, hitting and injuring her several times in the back, neck and head.

As there are more kangaroos in Australia than humans, I see this as a real threat to all of you coming from downunder, still having families and friends which can all become victims of these rude animals.
You guys are in real trouble, as your god given right to rule over everything gets more and more endangered, by kangaroos from landside, and not only sharks from seaside.

So long, folks.

[kaibo 开 博]

Yeah, I heard that report this morning on the radio.

A big roo can rip the guts out of a dog given the chance but they use big mastiffs (pit bulls) to pull them down sometimes. They are powerful beasts but will only attack when threatened or cornered. I have come face to face with big boomers in the bush. Sometimes they just stand & check you out before bounding off but the big ones that come into the mining camps are really tame unless you roust them up to be aggressive. They can roll back on their tails & throw a mighty kick coming forward as well as claw with their stumpy arms. Don't be fooled with those arms though, they can be as thick as the calf on a big man.

I would love to see a bout between a 180cm 'Fight Club' MMA freestyle artist & an equally powerful 1.8 metre big male roo. They could hold the bout in a caged ring where the roo is cornered. Additionally the roo would need to have gloved or well taped hands to conceal the claws on his front paws and hind legs. I would put my money on the MMA technician though, although I reckon it would be an epic battle as the roo would be totally defensive & hyped up by fear. It would be a great spectacle.  

[Aussie Mike]

At the risk of people saying "bullshit", which I am used to by now...two of my friends had dogs killed by kangaroos.

The first was ripped from chest to gut. The roo turned and picked the stafford terrier up by the front legs and gutted it by a solid kick with its hind legs.

The second went into a dam after the roo and was drowned by the roo.

Survival...

As a child of 9, I got kicked by a kangaroo which knocked me flat... They killed the dogs because their life was threatened, I'm sure it only pushed me because I was not a real threat. I respect the buggers now.

[kaibo 开 博]

US diver killed by shark off Rottnest
Lloyd Jones
October 22, 2011

AAP

PERTH, Oct 22 AAP Companions of an American scuba diver saw a flurry of bubbles on the water before his body surfaced after a fatal shark attack off Rottnest Island near Perth.

Within an hour of Saturday afternoon's attack, fisheries- officers were ordered to hunt down and destroy the shark and the beaches on the popular resort island were closed.

The 32-year-old American citizen, who had been working in Western Australia for six month, was solo diving and spear fishing off a 25m boat when the attack occurred.
 
The rest of the story can be found here ... http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/us-diver-killed-by-shark-off-rottnest-20111022-1mdin.html



The island  called 'Rottnest' - is about 20km off the Perth coast. The diver took a great risk by not having a 'dive buddy' as he dived alone. The dive location was 1km offshore from the island. Rottnest, meaning 'rats nest' -- was aptly named by a Dutch explorer because the small breed of marsupial (kangaroo) found on the island was thought to be a large rat. I have fished many times off Rottnest in large & small boats & I have seen many sharks, the biggest a 6mt monster and many average 2-3 metre varieties. If anyone doubts the size I saw, we were in a 6.6 metre boat and the shark was only marginally smaller than our boat. It was a massive great white.

[Patrick]

It's about time. I hope they kill as many as they can.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45004209/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

[Aussie Mike]

I worked on that Rescue boat as a sea rescue volunteer for years, mostly the older one  known as the NEC100. It's a powerful boat which can operate in huge swell and really rough weather. Some of my most scarey and exciting moments have been on those boats.

[Patrick]

Cool! That boat looks like it could handle just about anything the sea can throw at it, with the possible exception of a rogue wave.

From MSNBC article:
Barbara Weuringer, a University of Western Australia marine zoologist and shark researcher, urged against a shark hunt, saying there was no way of telling which shark was the killer without killing it and opening its stomach.

"It sounds a little bit like taking revenge, and we're talking about an endangered species," Weuringer said.


Great White's need to be take off that list, as should any animal that practices indiscriminate hunting of human beings. . That's why they should cut open all their stomach's. Eventually, they'll find the killer.

[Aussie Mike]

I don't agree with wholesale slaughter of sharks, those people who are taken by sharks are usually swimming in shark feeding areas and are mistaken as fish in trouble or urinate in the water which is asking for trouble as the scent tells the shark it is an animal such as a seal, in distress.

1 attack in Australia per year is small fish, (pun intended) when you consider how many people swim. Most attacks are small bites and are released as soon as the shark tastes the meat.

However, if a shark gets the taste for human flesh and attacks again, then it should be hunted.

The over fishing of these areas will lead to more attacks as they are getting hungry and likely to make mistakes.
The Western Australian coast has many seals which are part of sharks diet. So to avoid being attacked, don't swim in feeding areas and don't piss in your wetsuit.

[Aussie Mike]

Each year Western Australia has a swimming race from Perth mainland to Rottness Island (approx 12 km)
This year is no different except for the concern.  It may also be the year where many swimmer break previous records.

From ABC news
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rottnest Channel Swim Association has changed the rules for this year's event after the high number of fatal shark attacks in West Australian waters last year.

The Rottnest Channel Swim association tried to ease competitor concerns of a shark attacks at a meeting held at Challenge Stadium on Wednesday night.

Race Director of the Rottnest Channel Swim, David Corney, says recent shark attacks in West Australian waters have impacted on the psyche of race-goers.

"We spent a bit of time trying to alleviate some of the anxiety that is in the general community as well as enhancing some of the safety aspects of the swim," Mr Corney told ABC's Geoff Hutchison on 720 Mornings.

Mr Corney says the organisers have to consider the risk of putting swimmers in the water for the event.

"Our perception hasn't particularly changed about the inherent risks of the swim; it's open water swimming and there are always some risks around that."

The spate of fatal shark attacks that occurred last year at Bunker Bay, Cottesloe Beach and Rottnest Island, has forced a change to the rules of the Rottnest Channel Swim.

"One of the major changes is to have all shark sightings announced," he said.

Previously, only large sharks that were deemed a threat to competitors were announced and smaller sharks were ignored if they weren't considered a threat.

"This year, if any skipper, helicopter pilot or support boat sees a shark it will be announced and the position of that sighting will also be announced," Mr Corney said.

After the shark sighting is announced, support boats near the shark are permitted to pull swimmers out of the water immediately if they believe there is a threat to swimmers.

The support boat skipper and crew will judge the shark threat by "species, size, behaviour, direction and proximity to swimmers".

"There will be sharks but if you see something, you've got to tell us pretty quickly, and we'll determine whether it poses a risk or not."

The 2012 Rottnest Channel Swim will be held on Saturday February 25, visit the Rottnest Channel Swim website for more details.

[kaibo 开 博]

It was a swim I would like to have done in a team. I used to windsurf off Leighton near the Cable Stations. Also off Pinnaroo Point near Seal Island - sharkey territory. I sailed across to Little Island off Whitfords as well. I quite often think of the times I was 'in the drink' and flailing around to get my sail back in the right position to do a water start. I never really felt comfortable. A guy got taken off his sailboard by a great white with one hit - that was whilst he was in motion which gives you some idea of the power of those beasts.

[kaibo 开 博]

Mr Kurmann, a businessman and father of two young sons, was diving from a boat called Vampire about 1.6km off Stratham Beach, 230km south of Perth, when a shark about four metres long attacked just before 9.30am (WST) yesterday.

The mauled body of the man was recovered from the water by his 34-year-old brother Gian, who reported seeing a “dark, shark-like shape” in the water at the time of the attack.

It is the fourth fatal shark attack in West Australian waters in seven months.

Shark experts from the department would examine the body if requested by police to try to determine the species, he said.

Mr Cappelluti said a fisheries vessel equipped with shark capture gear was being sent from Bunbury to the scene of the attack.

He said an aerial surveillance team had been sent up and had sighted what might have been a shark in the area.

The waters off Stratham Beach are popular with divers for its reef and crayfish.

Yesterday's attack is the fourth fatal shark attack off the WA coast since September last year.

George Thomas Wainwright, a 32-year-old Texan, died when he was mauled by a great white shark while diving off Perth's Rottnest Island on October 22.

Bryn Martin, 64, died after being attacked by a shark while swimming at Perth's Cottesloe beach earlier in October.

Bodyboarder Kyle Burden, 21, was killed by a shark near Bunker Bay in WA's southwest in September.

Tour operator David Pickering, 26, was mauled by a tiger shark while snorkelling off Coral Bay, in the state's northwest, on January 19.

He escaped with only minor injuries.

Following the three fatalities in September and October last year, WA Fisheries Minister Norman Moore announced nearly $14 million in funding to reduce the risk of shark attacks.

That included $2 million over five years to establish a Shark Response Unit, $2 million for boosted aerial beach patrols and $1.7 million for four shark-related research projects.

RECENT FATAL ATTACKS IN WA

November 2000: Ken Crew, 48, killed by a 4m white pointer while swimming at Perth's North Cottesloe Beach

July 2004: Brad Smith, 29, attacked and killed by a great white and a large bronze whaler as he surfed near Gracetown, 270km south of Perth

March 2005: Geoffrey Brazier, 26, mauled to death while snorkelling off the Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton north of Perth

December 2008: Fisherman Brian Guest, 51, taken by a great white while snorkelling for crabs in about 5m of water near his Port Kennedy beachside home about an hour south of Perth

August 17, 2010: Nicholas Edwards, 31, killed while surfing alone at South Point, Gracetown, 270km south of Perth

September 4, 2011: Kyle James Burden, 21, taken by a great white while surfing at “Boneyards” near Bunker Bay in WA's southwest

October 10, 2011: Bryn Martin, 64, vanished off Perth's Cottesloe Beach following a suspected attack by a great white

October 22, 2011: American citizen George Wainwright, 32, attacked by a suspected great white 500m off Rottnest Island

March 31 2012: Peter Kurmann, 33, man killed at Stratham Beach, about 230km south of Perth.

[Patrick]

Exterminate the brutes.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/01/10965196-shark-cull-demanded-after-unprecedented-fatal-attacks-in-australia

[kaibo 开 博]

TOO RIGHT! We kill cows and chickens but preserve a killer in our domain. They are blooded and one of the offending sharks is a 4 metre female in my opinion. She has killed many times now. This is a local shark for sure. They will not be driven from extinction because 75% of our earth is water. The great whites in WA are territorial and frequent the same areas even though they do go on mystery jaunts up, down and around. There should be no hesitation to cull.

WA is a water playground and it is being destroyed  by humanist sentiment for rogue killers.