The sighting of four hammerhead sharks between Wanda and Cronulla beaches yesterday is no cause for alarm, given that hammerheads have never been identified in any of the greater Sydney area shark attacks.
Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen was commenting this morning from Byron Bay where he joined Greens mayor Jan Barham to launch a new shark jet ski patrol.
“Given the evidence that hammerheads have never been involved in an attack against a human in the greater Sydney area, it’s safe to say that the media’s fatal attraction to shark stories is worse than a hammerhead’s bite,” said Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.
“There are about 150 shark species that occur in Australian waters. Of these, only 3 will attack humans without provocation and the hammerhead is not one of them. Almost every major newspaper in this country picked up this story but none mentioned the fact that these sharks aren’t known to attack humans.
“Hazardous rips and dangerous wave conditions cause the bulk of safety issues on our beaches. These are the threats that the media should focus on.
“Media hysteria about sharks is partly to blame for the difficulties faced by NGOs campaigning to protect sharks from humans. Hammerheads are paying a high price for being tarred with the same brush as species that do attack swimmers and surfers: Bull, Tiger and Great White sharks.
“In the ten years between 1995 and 2004, 626 Hammerheads were caught in shark nets in NSW – we should be celebrating the fact that four have survived the nets and were seen down south on the weekend.” Mr Cohen said.
“I congratulate the people that are monitoring sharks in coastal waters. The fact that the sharks were observed and moved on by life savers means that risk management strategies are working - beach goers should take confidence from this.
“Patrols like the one launched this morning in Byron Bay should give the public confidence that beaches can be safe without the shark nets off Sydney that cause so much destruction to non-target species of marine life,” said Mr Cohen.
Further Information: Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466 or Nic Clyde on 0417 742 754
No comments:
Post a Comment