'Patrolled beaches don't need shark nets'

SHARK NETS: A grey nurse shark caught in a shark net. WA Premier Colin Barnett says metro beches are safe from sharks without the nets. Source: The Daily Telegraph

SHARK nets probably won't be adopted at West Australian beaches, with Premier Colin Barnett saying swimmers can feel safe between the flags in patrolled areas.

Mr Barnett's comments came as a 34-year-old surfer recovered in Royal Perth Hospital after being attacked by a shark in a remote part of the Gascoyne region, some 140km north of Carnarvon, yesterday afternoon.

In addition, another shark was sighted off Garden Island this morning, the latest in a spate of recent shark sightings off Perth and nearby beaches.

Late this morning, Surf Life Saving WA reported that a 3.5m shark was spotted by recreational fishers at Harding Rock, at the northern end of of Garden Island, at about 9.30am.

A report commissioned by the WA government was "not particularly encouraging'' about shark nets, Mr Barnett said.

"I have said, given the numbers of attacks and another one yesterday, that we will look at everything that is used to minimise the risk of shark attack including shark nets,'' he told ABC radio.

"A shark net is in fact a shark trap ... and people have very mixed views about shark nets when they see it in that context, but there are other things that are being looked at.''

Mr Barnett said the WA government would consider easing restrictions on the number of sharks professional fisherman could catch and culling large great whites that lurk close to swimming areas.

The government was also looking at providing surf life saving clubs with more equipment to help them protect people in the water, and had increased shark patrols.

Read the original here:

'Patrolled beaches don't need shark nets'

Related Posts

Comments are closed.