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2006/09: Have Queensland authorities done sufficient to prevent shark attacks?

Related issue outlines:
2005/06: Should the killing of Great White sharks off the South Australian coast have been authorised after the December 17, 2004, shark attack?

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What they said ...
'A combination of nets and drum-lines helps us afford that protection ... we have had 44 years of fatality-free protected beaches until this unfortunate incident'
Acting director of Queensland's Shark Safety Program, Tony Ham

'They [locals] know the place is teeming with sharks ... but visitors don't'
A visitor to the Amity Point area

The issue at a glance
On January 7, 2006, Sarah Whiley, a 21-year-old occupational therapy student, died from shock and blood loss after being mauled by what is believed to have been a pack of up to three bull sharks at Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island.
Ms Whiley was swimming in waist-deep water with three friends from a church group when the sharks bit off both her arms.
A report into the incident released on January 15 makes four recommendations to improve swimmer safety, including increasing the servicing of drum-lines located off the popular tourist beach. It also recommends conducting an education program warning tourists and locals of the risks associated with swimming in the area
There are those who have argued that Queensland authorities are already doing sufficient to guard against the risk of shark attack, while others have maintained that neither current protective measures nor the improvements recommended in the report are sufficient.

Background
Ms Whiley is the tenth person killed by sharks in Australia in the past six years.
Other recent fatalities include:
August 2005: Glenelg Beach, SA - marine biologist Jarrod Stehbens, 23, killed while diving for cuttlefish eggs off the Adelaide beach.
March 2005: Boat skipper Geoff Brazier, 26, killed by a 6m white pointer while snorkelling in the Abrolhos Islands, 500km north of Perth.
December 2004: Glenelg Beach, SA - surfer Nick Peterson, 18, killed by a 6m white pointer while being dragged behind a boat.
December 2004: Opal Reef, Queensland - Cairns spearfisherman Mark Thompson, 38, killed by a black whaler shark.
July 2004: Gracetown, WA - surfer Bradley Smith, 29, killed after being attacked near Margaret River.
November 2000: North Cottesloe, WA - businessman Ken Crew, 48, killed by a 4m white pointer while in waist-high water.
In the one hundred and five years between December 1900 and March 2005, there have been 120 shark attacks resulting in injury in NSW and 140 in Queensland.

Queensland shark control measures
The Queensland Shark Control Program (SCP) has been operating for more than 41 years. Prior to Ms Whiley's death, no fatal shark attack had occurred on a protected beach.
Contractors carry out the work of catching sharks by using nets or baited drum lines off the Queensland coast at beaches adjacent to major swimming centres throughout Queensland. Officers of the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol, DPI and Fisheries supervise and direct the operations. The nets are approximately 186 m long and are designed to catch sharks over two metres long. They are identified by inflatable plastic buoys and are anchored to the seabed.
Drum line fishing involves a shark hook suspended from an inflatable plastic buoy using approximately 2 metres of 5 mm galvanised chain trace. The depth of the hook is adjusted to suit local conditions, and the line is anchored to the seabed.
Each piece of fishing equipment is serviced every second day, weather permitting. The gear is removed from the water at least once every 21 days for full repairs, cleaning or replacement
From time to time, small numbers of marine animals other than sharks are captured. Marine mammal rescue contingency plans are presently in place at shark control centres throughout the State to minimise interactions. If an entrapment does occur, there is a Marine Animal Rescue Team (MART).
Government funding of $500,000 over five years has been allocated to investigate and research SCP operations.
Contractors maintain a statistical record of all catches.

Internet Information
Immediately after the death of Sarah Whiley a report was prepared for Queensland's Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries. It was titled, 'Fatal Shark Attack at Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island'. It makes very useful reading. It gives an account of the attack on Ms Whiley, the nature of the area where she was attacked, the shark attack risk in that area, the measures that had been taken to reduce the risk and the reasons those measures were used rather than others. The report concludes by making a series of recommendations as to how the risk of shark attack might be further reduced. Key among these are signage and an education campaign in the Amity Point area.
The report can be accessed from http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/amitypoint.htm
This page supplies a summary of the report. The full text of the report can be accessed through the link on the bottom of this page.

An outline of the Queensland Government's Shark safety Program: Bringing Safety to the Beach can be found at http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/2920.html
Though clear and accurate, this is an outline of the program produced by the Queensland Government and therefore not one which is critical of any of its practices.
The Australian Museum Online has a fact sheet that gives information about shark species in Australia and the comparative likelihood of a fatal shark attack.
This information can be found at http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/sharks.htm

The Marine and Coastal Community Network (MCCN) is a non-government project that builds community, industry and government support for the conservation of marine biodiversity and ecological processes, and the ecologically sustainable use of marine and coastal environments.
The MCCN has given over a section of its website to information about the operation of shark netting in both Queensland and New South Wales. It also presents the opinions of a number of experts who are opposed to the practice both from a conservation point of view and with regard to its effectiveness in protecting human life.
This inforamtion can be found at http://www.mccn.org.au/article.php/id/211/

On January 14 2005 the Manly Daily ran an analysis by John Morcombe, titled 'Raising the shark alarm'. The article provides an interesting historical overview of the number of fatal shark attacks that have occurred in Australia and of the measures taken in Queensland and New South Wales to both allay popular fears and to reduce the occurrence of attacks. The artcile also cites one authority who argues that our response to the threat of shark attack is exaggerated.
This article can be found at http://www.manlydaily.com.au/common/story_page/0,7168,17810989%255E36640,00.html

Arguments supporting the actions taken by Queensland authorities to prevent shark attack

1. Queensland authorities have installed either nets or drum-lines in 84 swimming spots since 1962
Queensland claims to have the best program protecting swimmers and others from shark attack of any state or territory in Australia. It combines its netting program with drum lines - baited hooks suspended from plastic buoys - while New South Wales relies solely on nets. Queensland and New South Wales are the only states that use shark nets. The other states rely on spotters on beaches, surf patrols and aerial surveillance to protect swimmers. It has been claimed that these measures do not afford the level of ongoing protection offered by nets and drums.
After a number of shark attacks off Queensland's beaches in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the state Government commissioned two senior fisheries biologists to investigate the most practical and cost-effective methods of protecting swimmers from marine predators. Trials conducted in the early 1960s in Moreton Bay and the Gold and Sunshine coasts demonstrated the need for two systems - nets and drum-lines.
Nets and drum-lines were introduced at the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Cairns in 1962 and were progressively implemented in other Queensland coastal centres through to the 1980s. Queensland now has nets or drum-lines at 84 beaches.

2. Queensland's protective measures against shark attack have been very successful.
Acting director of Queensland's Shark Safety Program, Tony Ham, has claimed that the state's system deserves to be recognised as the world's best practice. 'A combination of nets and drum-lines helps us afford that protection ... we have had 44 years of fatality-free protected beaches until this unfortunate incident [on North Stradbroke Island].'
Mr Stephen Leahy, who represents surf lifesavers in Sydney, has stated, 'The major beaches have good, solid protection. Certainly the shark netting programme has been very effective.'
A study of the risk to human life posed by sharks undertaken by the National Marine Science Centre in Coffs Harbour has shown the programs at NSW and Queensland beaches have been 'very successful' in reducing the number of shark attacks.
Defenders of the shark net and drum-line program have stressed that its success needs to be measured in terms of its objectives. It was never intended to act as a total barrier preventing sharks entering the areas where the nets and drum-lines are in place. Rather, it was intended as a means of discouraging sharks from establishing territories in particular areas and so as a means of reducing their numbers in locations heavily used by people.
Queensland's acting premier, Anna Bligh, has stated, 'While the program has an enviable 44-year record it does not place an impenetrable barrier between bathers and sharks. It operates by reducing the population of large sharks in a localised area and therefore minimising the risk of attack.'

3. Nets are not suitable to protect all waterways.
In response to critics who have claimed that Stradbroke Island waters should have been net-protected it has been claimed that not all areas are suitable for nets. Amity Point, the area where Ms Whiley was fatally attacked had been judged to be a spot which could not be protected using nets.
The acting Queensland Premier, Ms Anna Bligh, has stated, 'Drum-lines were selected for Amity because strong currents, coupled with considerable water depth and vessel traffic, meant that nets were impractical.'
This view was supported by a report prepared for the Minister for immediately after Ms Whiley's death. With regard to whether nets should have been placed in the vicinty of Amity Point, the report stated, 'The current in the area is subject to tide height and wind conditions, but an average watre speed of four knots would be considered normal, with peaks possibly at six to seven knots. In comparison an ocean beach net at the Gold Coast would be subject to an average speed of approximately 1 to 1.5 knots. The speed of the tidal current at Amity Point would not allow adequate anchoarge of a net.'
Drum-lines have been in place at Amity Point since 1997.

4. Beachgoers and tourists have been warned of the risk of shark attack and the dangers are generally known
The Queensland Shark Safety Program has a long-standing shark awareness education program. An education program begun in 1988 in south-east Queensland is continuing.
Mr Baden Lane, the manager of Queensland's shark safety program has stated, '[Since 1988] we've distributed a quarter of a million information brochures and our webpage has all the right information on it.'
Queensland's acting premier, Ms Anna Bligh, has stated, 'Bathers should be aware of the risks associated with swimming not only in the ocean, but in all Queensland waterways including creeks, rivers and canals, and should follow safety warnings being issued by the government, Surf Life saving Queensland and local councils.'
Rod Farrell, who owns Amity Point Waterfront Cabins, some 100 metres from where the attack on Ms Whiley occurred, has claimed that local residents did the best they could to ensure that tourists and other visitors to the area are aware of the risks. 'We're forever telling little ones and tourists not to swim late in the afternoon or at night, especially in the summer,' Mr Farrell said.

5. The fear of shark attack and calls for further action from authorities are an over-reaction
Dr Esben Strodl, the co-ordinator of Queensland University of Technology's School of Psychology and Counselling has stated that shark attacks instilled fear and panic because people overestimate the chances of such a horrifying death.
Dr Strodl has suggested, 'The reality is they are very rare, but because there is so much gore, it plays in people's minds and they get more anxious.'
A former lifeguard and a current Maroochy councillor, Mr Bruce Dunne, has said he would far rather see an additional funding used to support extra surf patrols.
Mr Dune has claimed, 'The reality is far more people die in drownings than they do in shark attacks and the resources would be better spent in preserving life than worrying about the remote possibility of a shark attack. This seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident.'
Marine biologist, John West, the operations manager at Taronga Zoo has claimed, 'Shark attacks are rare events and are as rare now as they were in previous decades. Compared to all the other ways people can die in the water, shark attacks are at the very bottom end of the scale. But the paranoia of people is what drives the interest in fatal shark attacks. People have to realise that just living is a risk and that everything in life has a risk. Shark attacks are certainly low-risk events compared to all the other causes of injuries and deaths.'
Further, marine biologists have argued that despite the recent attack there is no increased risk. Marnie Horton, the curator of fish and sharks at the marine park Seaworld, Australia's largest marine park, has claimed, 'There's huge pressure on sharks these days. If anything you would expect that sightings would be decreasing.'
Sunshine Coast Queensland Surf Lifesaving co-ordinator, Mr Byron Mills, has also stated that he believes there were 'appropriate measures in place'.
Mr Mills has stated, 'What happened at Stradbroke was a tragedy, but how far do you take it? I don't feel it is necessary to increase the number of patrols to prevent shark attacks.'

Arguments criticising the actions taken by Queensland authorities to prevent shark attack
1. Shark nets and drum-lines are limited as means of protecting against shark attack
There are a number of experts and interested groups that have disputed the effectiveness of both shark nets and drum-lines as a means of protecting beaches and reducing the likelihood of shark attacks.
Mr Harry Mitchell, the general manager of the shark-spotting plane service, McDonald's Aerial Patrol, has warned, 'The community should know that up to 50 per cent of the sharks caught in the meshing on Sydney beaches are caught on the inside.' If this figure is correct, the nets clearly do not keep sharks out of areas where people swim and may even give them a false sense of security, as many swimmers and other water users believe that the nets offer significant protection.
There are those who challenge whether shark nets work at all. The Australian Marine Conservation Society challenges whether shark nets work at all. Mr Craig Bohm, the New South Wales fisheries officer for the Australian Marine Conservation Society, has noted that Queensland and New South Wales are two of only three places in the world that use a shark netting program. The other is South Africa. Mr Bohm has claimed, 'There are millions of beaches around the world where people swim every day [without incident] ... The governments claim that because of these programs the incident of shark attack has been lower - we say there is no scientific basis for that and the incidence of shark attack is low anyway.'

2. Tourists and other visitors are not adequately warned of the shark risk at some Queensland beaches
It has been claimed that the area where Sarah Whiley was attacked is well known to locals as a dangerous area to swim, but there was nothing to warn visitors that this spot was unsafe.
In an analysis published in The Age on January 14, 2006, Steve Waldon stated, 'She [Sarah Whiley] was swimming in an area well known to locals - but not to visitors - as a shark risk. And some believe that the drum-lines put there eight years ago to distract sharks may actually have put her at greater risk.'
Waldon also reported, 'Amity Point residents and visitors who know the Rainbow Channel, close to shore, say they always see bull sharks at this time of year, through until about April. They expect to; the channel is tidal, deep and the entry to Moreton Bay.'
In the same analysis, Steve Waldon reported the response of local residents when asked if there should have been signage to indicate to visitors and tourists that certain areas put them at high risk of shark attack. One respondent who did not wish to be named replied, 'Of course there bloody should have been. It's OK for us, we know the water and don't swim there, but visitors lob in town and of course they're attracted to it.'
Ms Cathryn McKenzie who has visited the area but is not a local resident was critical of those familiar with Amity Point for not warning the swimmers. 'They [locals] know the place is teeming with sharks - so it wasn't random - but visitors don't,' she argued.
It has been claimed that there is a similar lack of information re shark attack risks in New South Wales. Under their contracts, New South Wales shark netters are required to net beaches from September to April, for a minimum of 13 days each month. The New South Wales Government is not required to tell the public when shark nets are in place and has gagged contracted shark netters from talking publicly about their schedules.

3. Local businesses and other commercial interests have a vested interest in not fully publicising the shark risk
It has been suggested that local businesses in shark-prone areas are reluctant to advertise the shark risk because of the damage this might do to tourism. The owner of the general store at Amity Point, Mr Steve Hickenbotham, has noted, 'The question of what to tell visitors is fraught. The locals try to negotiate the tricky territory between frightening people unnecessarily and offering suitable advice.'
'What should we do?' Mr Hickenbotham asks. 'We don't tell everyone who comes into the shop not to cross the road because there might be cars on it.'
When the Redland Shire Mayor, Mr Don Seccombe, recommended that shark warning signs be planted around Amity Point and possibly elsewhere on the island, the Tourism and Transport Forum managing director Christopher Brown countered by arguing that any council considering such a move should consult the industry about its implications. 'Beaches are the ultimate attraction for visitors in Queensland,' Mr Brown said.
Stradbroke Realty manager Helen Jarvis has revealed that several people had cancelled bookings at Amity Point. She said that if signs were planted locally they should appear all around the Australian coastline. 'This could have happened anywhere.'
The implication appears to be that some local businesses are concerned that shark warning signs may damage tourist centres commercially.

4. The wellbeing of sharks and other underwater wildlife is sometimes put ahead of the safety of beachgoers
It has been claimed that shark netting programs have not been pursued as vigorously as they might be because of concern for the safety of sharks and other marine creatures that get caught in the nets.
John Stevens, a shark biologist at the CSIRO division of marine research, has stated, 'They [shark nets] are very expensive and cause concern about the effects on the ecosystem because they catch harmless sharks and other species such as stingrays ... Today, these sorts of programs would not be environmentally acceptable but because they are already in place there is a lot of political pressure to keep them.'
The damage done by nets to protected species such as grey nurse sharks and white pointers has turned shark netting into a political issue, with conservationists demanding an immediate end to the program.
Kate Davey of the Australian Marine Conservation Society has stated that shark nets are 'a national disgrace' that put many species at risk. She has claimed, bathers 'are almost twice as likely to die from lightning strikes or bee stings and 100 times more likely to die from drowning'.
In response to conservationists' concerns those responsible for managing the shark nets have stressed how responsibly they are used. The acting director of Queensland's Shark Safety Program, Tony Ham, has stated, 'We have a wide variety of sharks in Queensland, including whalers, tigers, whites and other species and our strategy is aimed at protecting as many of those species as we can.'
Critics of this position claim that a shark safety program should be intended to protect people rather than sharks and that the desire to protect marine life has resulted in shark nets being under-utilised and thus human lives being put at risk.

5. There are more effective measures that could be put in place to protect Queensland's beaches from shark attacks
North Stradbroke Island tourism operators have called for a shark-proof swimming enclosure to be built off Amity Point where Sarah Whiley was fatally mauled by bull sharks.
It has been claimed that in popular areas where there is known to be a shark risk, neither nets nor drum-lines may not offer sufficient protection. The mayor of Redland Shire, Mr Don Seccombe, has announced that the local council would consider installing a shark-proof fence when councillors returned from holidays.
A local resident interviewed by a reporter for the 7.30 Report stated, 'It would be really good if the council decided to put a swimming enclosure in. It would help us in the tourism industry because that's what the people come here for - to have a good time, to fish and relax and enjoy the water.'
Australian lifesavers have called for greater use of helicopters to spot sharks.
Mr Sean O'Connell, a spokesperson for Surf Life Saving Australia, has stated, 'With a shark, visual observation is the key. For lifeguards monitoring beaches, it's never going to be as good as having someone hundreds of meters above the water looking down and seeing sharks who don't necessarily swim at surface level.'
Another suggestion which has been made is that it may be necessary to install sonar warning devices in some areas.

Further implications
There appears to be a need to strike a compromise between the continued survival of the marine creatures that surround our shores and the average Australian's love of the beach.
Statistically the number of Australians killed annually by sharks is not significant, but this is not simply a question of statistics. Shark attacks are generally bloody and terrifying and are normally followed by an enormous upsurge of sympathy for the victim(s). In addition, given how much many Australians regard easy access to the water as an intrinsic part of being a resident of this country, many people also feel personally threatened when there is a fatal shark attack.
So far as New South Wales and Queensland are concerned, shark nets have formed a key element of those states' response to the perceived need to protect their citizens from shark attack. As research continues, however, their apparently limited efficacy together with the environmental damage they cause has led to the use of shark nets being questioned.
It is interesting to see that one of the immediate responses of the Queensland government to the death of Sarah Whiley has been to urge a wider and more effective education campaign to warn people of the dangers of sharks. This must also be coupled with a serious response from local councils. General warnings about the types of water to avoid and the types of beahviours not to practise are valuable. However, they must be supplemented by local knowledge. Many local residents of Amity Point have indicated that they would not have swum where Ms Whiley was swimming, neither, presumably would she, if she had been aware of the danger she was putting herself in.
There have been calls for improved signage on Australian beaches to warn of shark danger. One solution which has not been publicly canvassed to this point is to make it possible to sue councils if people are attacked by sharks in areas where there are no warning signs. The fear of many millions of dollars of compensation plus additional bad publicity might help to persuade those local authorities who are afraid of the impact that adequate local warning signs might have on the tourist industry.

Newspaper sources
Note: these sources are available online, being news items still accessible from the papers themselves, or cached by search engines, educational organisations and other third parties. Because of this, there will be no package of photocopied clippings to go with this issue outline. Click a headline to access the article

ABC news, Jan 11, 2006, news item, Bull Sharks thought to be responsible for fatal attack on woman

Townsville Bulletin, January 11, 2006, news item by John Anderson, Bull whalers lurk in our waterways

Bulletin magazine, December 14 2005, analysis / personal experience by James Bradley, Great White tale

Age, January 14, 2006: analysis by By Steve Waldon. Death in the shallows

Sydney Morning Herald, January 11, 2006, News item by Gwyn Topham, Everybody out: shark panic at the beach

Sydney Daily Telegraph, January 10, 2006, analysis by Peter Trute, How safe are we from shark attacks?

Sydney Morning Herald, January 12, 2006, analysis by Julia Baird, Just when you think it is unsafe to go into the water

The Australian, January 10, 2006, analysis by Kevin Meade, Ian Gerard, Killers on the loose

Brisbane Courier Mail, January 12, 2006, news item by Glenis Green, Shark attack witness traumatised

Herald-Sun, January 9, 2006, news item by Kelly Ryan, Sharks lurking beneath waves

Adelaide Advertiser, January 10, 2006, news item by Greg Roberts, Tourism fears over shark warnings