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First KILL order has been applied in WA on a White pointer!


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http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/15781202/first-kill-order-for-sw-sharks/Update, 5pm: The Department of Fisheries is set to deploy bait after a kill order was issued for a shark in the South West.The sharks, one reportedly up to four metres long, have been spotted swimming near several popular beaches including Meelup, Bunker Bay and Quindalup since Christmas, with one swimming just 20m from shore.The most recent sighting was reported at about 4pm, when the South West Rescue Helicopter spotted a 3m shark tracking north from Eagle Bay, Dunsborough. Meelup Beach has been closed.The Department of Fisheries is set to deploy baited drum lines near Castle Rock this evening.Department of Fisheries Regional Manager Tony Cappelluti said shark sighting had been reported every day since Christmas except for December 31."The repeated confirmed sightings and pattern of behaviour during the peak holiday season is particularly concerning," he said."Therefore an order was issued for Department of Fisheries staff to set hooks and lines with a view to catching and destroying a white shark if a confirmed shark sighting occurred."The sharks are caught using drum lines, large hooks anchored to the ocean floor and baited with tuna or mackerel.Once caught, the shark is brought alongside a boat and shot by fisheries officers using a special firearm or it drowns from exhaustion because it cannot swim away.Attempts to capture the creatures yesterday were unsuccessful, but several Fisheries boats remain in the area."The department has had two vessels on the waters around Dunsborough with the capacity to set hooks and lines," Mr Cappelluti said."The larger vessel has the capacity to retrieve and destroy a shark if required."The power to order the capture or killing of any shark deemed an "imminent threat" to members of the public was granted to the director-general of fisheries late last year after five fatal shark attacks in the space of 10 months in WA waters.Senior fisheries officials have previously made it clear that the capture/kill orders were being used as a last resort, when all other measures to protect members of the public had been exhausted.Mr Cappelluti said helicopters and on-water patrols had been used, but could not reach many of the region's more isolated beaches.
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in related stories..http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/15716185/headless-tiger-shark-washes-up-at-cott/Tiger shark washes up at Cott groyneLifeguard Andrew Grimshaw with the remains of the tiger shark. Picture: Simon Santi/The West AustralianPosted ImageUpdate, 3.20pm: A headless tiger shark was pulled from the water at Cottesloe Beach this morning.Lifeguards pulled the 2.5m carcass on to the Cottesloe Beach groyne just before 10.30am.A Surf Life Saving WA spokesman said the lifeguards thought a fisherman had probably chopped off the animal’s head before throwing it back into the water last night.Fisheries officers, water police and rangers were at the scene.A fisheries spokeswoman said it was the responsibility of the local council to dispose of the carcass. Cottesloe rangers have since removed the shark.The Department of Fisheries said the shark was protected due to its size and Cottesloe rangers have reminded people fishing for sharks in the area is illegal.In the South West, the Westpac Helicopter has sighted eight hammerhead sharks at Bunker Bay. The sharks range from 2m to 3m and the beach has been closed.A 4m white shark has also been sighted in nearby Busselton, 20m from the shore in front of the Busselton Hospital. The water has been cleared.Swimmers in Perth have been warned after the Westpac Helicopter has sighted a 2m hammerhead shark between Swanbourne and City Beach. The beach remains open.The helicopter has also sighted a 3.5m shark heading into Porpoise Bay at Rottnest. The shark was last seen 200m from the shore at about 3.05pm.A 3m shark was sighted feeding on bait fish between Trigg and Scarborough beaches about 1pm. The water was been cleared but the beach was reopened at about 2.30pm.Last week up to 16 tiger sharks were spotted feeding off a dolphin carcass metres from the shore at Trigg Beach.The incident caused the closure of Trigg and Scarborough beaches for several hours.Earlier today, a 3m shark was spotted just 20m offshore at Margaret River surfing spot Injidup Point.The shark was seen heading north from the south-west rescue helicopter.

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looks like WA is in for a good tourist season.. since i surf/swim in WA waters quite frequently for work.. Twilight bay, Cape Le grande National park, and even get a chance to surf marg river/yallingup area and swim at Meelup beach and Castle rock. this all has quite some interest to me..

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yeah i swim with the dolphins/sea lions in SA.. also swim with tuna in SA.. and the pointers ;)but i try not to surf and swim with them... though surfing Le Grande national parkive paddled into bronzies more times than i care to share.. and also another guide snorkelling lucky bay came across a 3-4m white... amazing how you can run up vertical rocks in flippers...

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Question if they do catch a shark to a baited drum and it dies from struggling. Won't the decaying carcass of a large animal attract more and even bigger sharks?? Just saying... morons.Of course its the Jetty fisherman who is to blame for the sharks being around, with his one hook in the ocean according to the state government. :c Leave the shark in his domain. Exercise caution when swimming and surfing.

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Yeah del, I lived and surfed and fished south West and it's brilliant area. The break.at Margarets is brilliant but injidup carpark and three bears has to be the best surf in Australia. Man I miss it, im.too heavy these days, would need a big mal to.get me.up.haha.Seen heaps of tiger sharks out there, and in my opinion they are way more dangerous and likely responsible for a lot of deaths attributed to whites. The tigers are feisty and will take a chunk out of anything!!!! They are the buggers munching on outboard and. And transoms and spinning boats around by their burley bags ;) Like the other fella's have said.... They are protected... Or NOT.Leave them alone, or open up a season. Going out and killing random whites is stupid.... What do they think?? That it will send a message to the other whites and deter them from coming in close??? Gimme a break.

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Yeah good comments guys. I reckon it's just like the jetty sharking issue, where eventually public pressure forces some sort of action to be taken to in the interest of 'public safety'- this usually quietens the issue down for a while, even if the action taken is inappropriate, or a token quick fix. Great whites have been protected for about 20 years now, it makes sense that there are more around. They definetely visit Adelaide metro waters this time of year.

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