Recent/local similarities
Today we shall be examining
A day before writing this (5/13/2014), a woman here in Jacksonville Florida was attacked by a shark. Luckily, it was nothing bad, and she simply needed 21 stitches on her foot. She also said the culprit didn't want to let go. It is believed that the shark was about 3-4 feet long, and was likely a dogfish shark or sandbar shark.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/apparent-shark-bite-at-jacksonville-beach/25952894
- The policies being implemented
Shark Cull in Australia
- The motivation behind starting the cull
- The documented results of the cull
- The different opinions on the subject
- The scientific evidence behind it
- Other examples of similar incidents
By Susan Thai And Lucas Smith
- What species of shark endangered by the cull
- Actual actions against sharks taken by cull laws
- Fear of sharks
- Casualty report and attempted evaluation of cull effectiveness
- Opinion of conservationalists
- Opinion of cull supporters
- The science behind it
- Personal opinions
- Related Fun Facts and/or incidents
Conclusion
- shark cull had begun due to recent attacks on humans
- sparked opposition between cull supporters and conservationists
- "kill-zones" have been made and new policies have been implicated to legalize the hunting of sharks
- Great whites are targeted although they aren't the ones attacking humans
- Prediction: shark bait drumlines will attract even more sharks into the area
- tourism will decrease dramatically
- policies will go on for a while longer but eventually end due to wide negative responses
What does science have to say?
- Scientists despise this policy.
- Sharks will not adapt to stay away from the beaches if all who learned the lesson are now dead.
- Killing so many Sharks would upset the ecosystem, and further endanger an already dying race.
Some Opinions
- Putting baited drumlines close to shore will attract even more sharks to populated areas, making the beaches even more dangerous.
- Most people are still going swimming and say to swim at your own risk
- Few people agree with hunting down and killing sharks to make beaches safer.
- Maybe set up nets or meshing to protect beaches
- The Greenland shark lives in the freezing antarctic ocean with temperatures of -1 C to 10 C
- Most of them have received a parasites on both of their eyes, rendering them blind, forcing them to rely on other sensory systems.
- They are about the same size of a Great white, reaching lengths of 20 feet, and weighing 2,500 pounds.
- They dive deep, reaching depths of about 2,200 meters.
- Are capable of living up to 200 years old.
- Parts of polar bear have been found inside their stomach, meaning that these terrifying abominations eat giant bears capable of eating bullets for breakfast. Bits of horses, moose, and even an entire Reindeer have also been found inside.
- Their flesh is poisonous due to high levels of trimethylamine oxide. Early settlers however, discovered that if you bury it for 6 to 12 weeks before exposing in to freezing and thawing cycles repeatedly, hang it up to dry for several months, before finally cutting it into bite-sized cubes, the flesh is edible and is considered an extreme delicacy known as "Hákarl."
Conservationists
Cull Supporters
What does history have to say?
- We side ourselves with the activists on this case.
- We primarily oppose the cull because it is inhumane to sharks. The ocean is an ecosystem led largely by sharks, the apex predator. As humans, we need to understand that the ocean is their, and when entering it, we need to share it with them, and that we will be at their mercy.
- The policies will likely not even work. Overwhelming evidence has shown that this may simply attract more sharks to the beaches with bait.
- It will likely upset a delicate ecosystem, and the Earth isn't doing its best at this time anyway.
- Government and its policies
- professional (licensed) fishermen will be able to hunt sharks if the venture into the designated "kill zones"
- Tourists to Western Australia will decrease if actions aren't taken
- Fears that removal of ocean's top predator will disrupt the marine ecosystem
- Western Australians For Shark Conservation - shark education
- Marine Response Unit - direct protest unit like chaining self to fishing boats
- Conduct further research on sharks and find out where they breed
- Great whites are vulnerable to extinction; could be wiped out within 20 years if action not taken to protect them
- Mosquitoes, jellyfish, and dogs, have killed more people than sharks every year.
- From 1959 to 1976, the state of Hawaii had its own shark cull.
- 4,668 sharks died as a result, including 554 Tiger sharks. (Hawaii's most common shark killer)
- No significant decrease in the number of shark attacks was recorded.
Video footage of Shark cull in action
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/27/world/asia/australia-sharks/
Plus, it's not like they're invading OUR ecosystem or anything. Unlike this.....
Video footage of Shark activists fighting back
- Some activists have also threatened the safety of cull supporters
https://i.imgur.com/oJRZX7u.gif.
Fun Facts!
- 172 sharks have been captured/killed under the cull policy
- Some sharks claim their first kill before birth! Certain species house their young inside them before giving live birth. Many fertilized eggs are jumbled together inside their mother, and one is born before all the others. This one will be the child to survive and be born, as it will cannibalize its brothers and sisters, who are still trapped as eggs in order to survive.
Shark Cull policies
- Ironically not one of the captured/killed sharks has been a Great White, the shark that was primarily blamed for the killings.
- 14 Sharks below the 3 meters limit have been executed
Why is this happening?
- Aggressive sharks are the main target of this cull, with the government advocating and carrying out the killing of Great white sharks, Bull sharks, and Tiger sharks of 3 meters or more, primarily.
Shark attacks always were a small issue of Australia that everyone faced when enjoying the ocean there. However Western Australia has suffered unusually high fatal shark attack rate lately, experiencing 7 deaths in just 3 years, more than the rest of Australia combined. This has led the government to take new steps in public safety.
Why is this suddenly a new issue? Weren't steps taken earlier?
- The tactic utilized by the government has put baited drumlines off of popular beaches and shores, which will snag sharks. These sharks will be executed once officials arrive.
The Australian government has justified the shark cull with the claim that it will make the beaches a safer place for its citizens. They believe that by targeting aggressive species of shark close to populated shores, the shark population will either learn to stay away, or all of those who travel there will die, and be stopped.
Sharks exposed to the cull
- Tiger Sharks have been the most common victims of these traps.
Sharks safe from the cull
- Peaceful shark species have remained protected under law
- Additional aggressive Sharks