AAP General News (Australia)
12-28-2001
Qld: Traps take bite out of shark population
BRISBANE, Dec 28 AAP - Almost 4,000 sharks had been caught off Queensland beaches in
the past five years, official figures showed today.
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol statistics showed 3,963 sharks had been caught
between January 1996 and March 2001.
The main areas included Mackay's Harbour Beach, where 181 sharks were caught, Kelly's
Beach near Bundaberg (180), Tannum Sands South (174), Noosa (163), Horseshoe Bay near
Townsville (159), Lamberts Beach near Mackay (156) and Rainbow Beach near Point Lookout
(153).
The largest sharks caught this year included a 4.1m Great Hammerhead at Bilinga on
the Gold Coast and a 3.8m Tiger Shark caught at Lamberts Beach.
The busiest area for shark netting and drum lines was the Sunshine Coast where 648
sharks were trapped over the period.
Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland spokeswoman Jan Oliver said many conservationists
believed more sharks were being killed than the shark population could sustain.
"There's quite likely to be a certain number of them which are classified as endangered,
such as the Great White, and there have been minimal attacks by sharks," Ms Oliver said.
She said the by-catch in shark nets was enormous and often included endangered species
such as dolphins, turtles and dugong.
Conservation groups were currently discussing the issue with the federal government
and it would be taken up with the Queensland government in the new year, Ms Oliver said.
"We were getting on quite well with (former federal Environment Minister) Senator Hill
to get more species of sharks listed and different ways of controlling potential attacks
on beaches, such as drum lines, which are much more specific to shark catching," she said.
"Now we've got the new minister and the plan is to convince Dr (David) Kemp we should
really be looking at that."
AAP pjo/jfs/jnb/br
KEYWORD: SHARKS QLD
2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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