Right: The Whitsunday Islands, a tourism destination which has long been an economic base of the Queensland economy.
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Arguments in favour of culling sharks off the Whitsundays
1. Shark numbers are increasing
Those who have called for the introduction of a shark cull off the Whitsundays and the permanent placement of drum lines in the area argue that these measures are needed in response to a dangerous increase in shark numbers.
Keith Pitt, the NLP Member for Hinkler and former assistant trade and tourism minister, has stated, 'I've had the local fishos telling me the sharks are in plague proportion. They are an apex predator and we should thin them.' out.'
The same claim has been made by Katter's Australian Party (KAP) North Queensland MP, Rob Katter, who has stated, 'I'm no expert on shark management, but I am an expert on listening to people and if you talk to people who have been going out there 30 years, whether they're from Cairns, Whitsundays, Townsville, whether they're recreational fisherman, whether they're professional fisherman, they tell you the same thing - that the numbers have grown, they've exploded in some areas where it was never like that before.'
Mr Katter disputes the claims made by marine experts that shark numbers are in decline. He states, 'It should be noted that just about every expert who gets rattled out by Fisheries or employed by the Government or any other scientist that's rattled out conveniently seems to contradict what's said by the commercial fishermen who spend all day out there on those seas observing what's going on.'
Mr Katter's claims are supported by some commercial fishermen who maintain that shark numbers are in fact growing. Bruce Batch, one of Queensland's last remaining commercial shark fishermen, who has worked for the same fishery for almost 48 years, believes that environmental campaigns and a halving in commercial catch numbers by a former federal Labor government have increased Queensland's shark population.
Mr Batch stated, 'What surprises me is the fact that there isn't more [attacks] - when you actually talk to any commercial fishermen, these animals are now getting larger and larger by the year and they're educated to follow boats.'
Mr Batch said there used to be a shark take of roughly 1,200 tonnes in Queensland but that was halved by the former federal Labor environment minister, Peter Garrett. Mr Batch also claimed that the problem had been compounded by the number of net-free and green zones in that had been established in Queensland waters. He stated, 'They sound like a good idea but they themselves [that is, fishing in these areas] were keeping a lot of the bull sharks in control.
Every river and estuary along the coast is now nearly shut to commercial fishing and that has allowed those bull sharks to breed and increase and grow, to a stage where they now leave the estuaries and are going out into the wild and becoming a big problem.'
Mr Batch concluded, 'When you're out here on the water and you see the amount of sharks and the amount of large sharks, it's out of control and I don't know what the answer is. Talk to the guys that make their living out on the water - they've certainly got a different concept of what's going on than the guys who are sitting on their tiny seats in offices.'
2. There has been a spate of shark attacks in the Whitsundays causing injury and loss of life
Those who support a shark cull at the Whitsundays stress the unacceptable threat to human life that the sharks pose.
The recent spate of shark attacks in the Whitsundays has underlined for those seeking a cull the danger that these creatures represent to human life. On November 5, 2018, Dr Daniel Christidis, 33, was attacked at Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays region. Despite the best efforts from his friends and colleagues, the doctor died on his way to Mackay Base Hospital. It was the third serious shark mauling at Cid Harbour in two months. Tasmanian aged-care worker and mother of two, Justine Barwick, 46, was bitten on her left thigh while snorkelling in the same area on September 19 and underwent 18 hours of surgery. Melbourne schoolgirl, Hannah Papps, 12, received a life-threatening bite to her right leg while swimming in shallow water in Cid Harbour the following day. She lost her leg in the attack.
Three attacks in the same area over such a short period of time have created a sense of threat within the Whitsundays and underlined the extent to which sharks can endanger human life.
Supporters of a shark cull argue that human life has to take precedence over marine life. Keith Pitt, the NLP Member for Hinkler and former assistant trade and tourism minister, has stated, 'If it comes down to a choice between a child or an adult... and a shark, well I'm going with the people.' Referring to Daniel Christidis, a 33-year-old doctor working at Melbourne's Austin Health, who died after a shark attack while paddleboarding and swimming at Cid Harbour, Mr Pitt stated, 'We have another grieving family in Australia due to a fatal shark attack. I think that's unacceptable. I think it's time for action.'
The same point has been made by Katter's Australian Party (KAP) North Queensland MP, Rob Katter, who has stated, ' It's not something we celebrate as a party, I don't enjoy killing animals, but when it becomes a point of the humans versus the animals, if you want to distil it down to the real problem, someone's got to make the call to take those hard decisions.'
Mr Katter concluded, 'Preventing people from being eaten while going for a swim is the kind of thing governments are meant to get right.'
Queensland shadow tourism minister, David Crisafulli, has similarly criticised members of the government for prioritising animal life over human life. He has stated, 'There's a movement by some of the lunatic green advocates to remove shark protection measures. I just shudder to think we live in a society where people value a human life less than that of an animal.'
3. Unless beachgoers can be reassured, the Whitsundays' tourist industry will be harmed
Among those who are calling for either a cull or the permanent placement of drum lines are politicians who are concerned about the impact news of the Whitsunday attacks will have on tourism in the Whitsunday region.
In 2005, Tourism Whitsundays indicated in a submission to the federal Parliament that tourism in the Whitsundays was a major component of the local economy employing around 34.4% of the total workforce. This figure did not include the many others employed in separate industries with the region that are dependent on tourism. These include supporting industries such as retail and others within the service sector.
A report published in the Financial Review of November 9, 2018, stated, 'With the region reliant on tourists each year, the tourism industry is petrified about the implications of global headlines focusing on the shark attacks in the Whitsundays. It was previously seen as safe for jumping off boats and swimming.'
Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive, Daniel Gschwind, has argued that tourism authorities needed to 'take rational steps to minimise the risk' by being upfront with visitors.
Mr Gschwind stated, 'Operators are worried about this. It's not the sort of thing you want to be in the headlines for, but we are worried about the longer-term reputations and association of the reef with some primordial fear.'
Katter's Australian Party State Leader and Member for Traeger, Rob Katter has warned that media coverage of the shark attacks had spread globally and tourism operators were feeling the impact.
Mr Katter stated, 'We are starting to see reports that yacht charter and dive operators are seeing a major drop in forward bookings directly as a result of the shark attack coverage.
If that flows through to other tourism sectors, that means the loss of big dollars in the North as they head into one of their important tourism periods.'
Mr Katter has urged that the state government supply substantial financial assistance to the region as a buffer against a tourism downturn. He has also argued that it needs to introduce culling of both crocodiles and sharks to protect and reassure potential tourists.
A similar point has been made by Deputy Leader of the LNP, Tim Mander, who has also called for permanent drum lines to be reintroduced 'immediately' in the Cid Harbour area of Whitsunday Island in order to preserve the tourism industry and the region's celebrated beach culture..
Mr Mander has argued that it is important people feel protected in the water in order to safeguard the tourism industry in the Whitsundays. He has stated, 'If people feel that they can't swim safely then tens of thousands of jobs will be in jeopardy. The public deserves to feel safe and deserves to feel that the authorities are taking action.
People want to make sure there's not mass cullings of these marine creatures but at the same time it's about getting the balance right, so we've had nets and drum lines for years in Queensland because of our culture, our beach culture, it's who we are.'
4. Unlike much of Queensland, there is no shark control program in the Whitsunday area
Among those who have called for a shark cull and the establishment of permanent drum lines in the area are critics who have noted that, unlike much of Queensland, there have been no shark control measures put in place to protect those swimming off the Whitsundays.
Queensland's Shark Control Program (SCP) relies on nets or drum lines, or a combination of both, to minimise the threat of shark attack on humans in particular locations. The following locations are protected with nets and/or drum lines: Cairns, Townsville and Magnetic Island, Mackay, Capricorn Coast, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Rainbow Beach, Sunshine Coast, North Stradbroke Island and the Gold Coast.
In all, the SCP is in place at 86 beaches along the Queensland coast. However, neither nets nor drum lines have ever been installed in the Whitsundays. Critics have highlighted the unfairness of this.The Queensland Opposition Leader, Deb Frecklington, is calling for drum lines to be in place at Cid Harbour permanently.
Frecklington has stated, 'We've seen three shark attacks, one ending in an absolute tragedy, and they don't have a shark control program, so obviously something more needs to happen.'
The Opposition leader expressed her dissatisfaction with the meeting called between the Queensland's Tourism Minister, Kate Jones, the Fisheries Minister, Mark Furner, local tourism operators and marine experts and the Whitsundays council
Frecklington dismissed the roundtable meeting as a talkfest and called for drum lines to be immediately rolled out at Cid Harbour.
The Opposition leader stated, 'Labor need to explain why one of the only areas of Queensland that does not have drum lines or netting is the Whitsundays, where there have been three tragic shark attacks in six weeks. So it is borderline negligent that (Premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk's only response to these terrible events in the Whitsundays is to call a meeting.'
The Opposition environment spokesperson, David Criusafulli, has similarly stated, 'You can't cherry-pick science, and use science as the justification not to give one region, and one region only the protection they deserve.'
Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan has also called for drum lines to be permanently set in popular spots in the Whitsundays.
Mr Costigan has stated, 'We need drum lines and nets off our popular swimming beaches in the Whitsundays like most other populated centres up and down the Queensland coast. It's about time we had the same levels of protections as other places.'
Mr Costigan continued, 'I think we're flirting with danger when you compare us to other communities, from Alice Beach north of Cairns, down to Townsville, which is peppered with drum lines and nets and so forth, around Magnetic Island, the northern beaches of Mackay and you go all the way down to the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and we've got nothing in the Whitsundays - it's madness.'
Mr Costigan asked, 'Why is it we have shark nets and drum lines stretching the coastline to cover and protect every major population centre in Queensland except the most notable tourism destination in the state that is the Whitsundays?'
5. Culling is used to deal with other pest animals and animal management problems
Those who call for a shark cull argue there is no reason why sharks should be treated differently to other pest animals.
Katter's Australian Party (KAP) North Queensland MP, Rob Katter, has stated, 'Now if you had problems with pigs, kangaroos, wild horses, we manage them through culling, all types of effective means...'
Those who support culling argue it is an efficient method of removing animals that have either over-populated or pose a threat to human beings. Katter's Australian Party has a general policy of using culls to remove animals that may pose a risk to human populations.
Federal independent MP, Bob Katter, has campaigned for all Queenslanders to have the right to kill or remove deadly animals from their property. In January, 2012, Bob Katter called for Queenslanders to be able legally to remove bats from their properties. Mr Katter referred to scientific reports that have named bats as the origin of several viruses including SARS, Leptospirosis and Nipah virus. Flying foxes also spread the Hendra virus, which is usually fatal to humans, and has killed large numbers of horses.
In April, 2017, arguing is support of the Katter Australian Party's repeated call for a crocodile cull in Queensland, Renee Viellaris wrote, 'We already have government-approved culls of kangaroos, brumbies, wild pigs and rabbits because they affect the environment. Am I missing something here?'