The West Australian Government has bowed to public pressure and will introduce a trial of so-called SMART drum lines to try to reduce the number of shark attacks along its coastline.
Key points:
- Sharks caught on the baited drum lines off Gracetown will be tagged and released
- SMART drum lines have already been used in New South Wales and Queensland
- Surfers have backed the trial but critics say it's concerning and unnecessary
The 12-month trial will be rolled out in waters off Gracetown in the state's South West, where two non-fatal shark attacks took place earlier this year, and the results and will be evaluated by WA's chief scientist Peter Klinken.
The attacks near Gracetown led to the cancellation of the Margaret River Pro surfing competition and have prompted uncertainty about the future of the event.
SMART (Shark Management Alert in Real Time) drum lines involve the use of a baited hook but instead of killing the sharks, the animals are tagged and released offshore.
Until now, the WA Government has resisted the technology and has supported personal shark deterrents instead.
Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly made clear that the trial was completely different to the drum lines introduced by the Barnett government in 2014, which sparked a protest by thousands of people at Cottesloe beach.
"It's a non-lethal program, it's a catch, tag, relocate and release program," Mr Kelly said.
"It's certainly not intended to kill sharks. I don't think the public want us to go down that path.
"I hope that the trial shows that these devices actually do work and they actually makes our beaches safer … we want it to be based on evidence, not just opinion."
The Government is yet to establish how much the trial will cost, but estimated it would be "several million" dollars.
About 10 drum lines are expected to be used off the coast near Gracetown, with the exact locations to be decided in consultation with local residents.
'Fantastic news': Campaigners welcome move
The announcement follows months of campaigning by surfers including Rick Gerring, whose brother Ben was killed by a shark off Mandurah south of Perth in 2016.
Mr Gerring welcomed the decision, saying Gracetown was the best location for the SMART drum lines.
"I think it's fantastic news that one, we're going to trial our own drum lines to get some research, and two, being in that area which is a high-risk area," Mr Gerring said.
"They've been used on the Queensland and New South Wales coasts for many years now.
"Their incident rates have declined, but from what I know and what I've been told, there is still more information that we need.
"That's why I'm grateful that the West Australian Government has taken it on board to do our own trial."
Drum lines could increase risk of attack, critics warn
Conservation group Sea Shepherd expressed concerned about the safety of the drum lines.
"There is the concern of baited hooks close to surf breaks, that draw sharks in, and … we have also witnessed sharks swimming straight past even the SMART drum lines, so they should not be relied upon for public safety," managing director Jeff Hansen said.
Loading...He said individuals should take responsibility for managing their own risk from sharks.
"Sea Shepherd finds it absurd that we are trying to control a natural, random and wild environment, when so much more can be done by humans to mitigate our own risk, like whale carcass management, better signing and understanding more what is happening in our natural marine environments," Mr Hansen said.
He said it was "a shame" the WA Government was trialling the lines, given they had already been trialled in New South Wales but "the NSW Government has not been forthcoming with trial data".
Humane Society International also expressed reservations about the trial and said there was no data about whether wildlife caught by SMART drum lines in NSW had survived.
No silver bullet, victim's brother says
But Mr Gerring said he would like to see the drum lines rolled out at strategic locations along the WA coast.
"Further down south, along the Mandurah coastline, Esperance and even out through Rottnest," he said.
"Areas that are not patrolled, I think the [drum lines] would be a bigger asset in those sorts of areas.
"One thing with shark mitigation, it's a very hard thing to do, it's not easy, and I understand that we need to put our money in the best possible areas to reduce our risk the most.
"There's no one control measure that is going to fix our issue, it's numerous different ones. The personal deterrents, helicopter services, drones, all these things add to the overall strategy.
"And as long as we are continuing to improve the strategy … I just see that as us doing the right thing by the people."
Locals hope trial will help coax tourists back
Surfers in the state's South West also welcomed the trial, saying there had been a huge impact on tourism from the ongoing controversy over shark attacks.
Margaret River surfer Mitch Thorson said he knew of five retailers and cafes closing down on the town's main street because of the dwindling number of visiting surfers.
He said he hoped the trial would not only keep locals safe, but would coax tourists back to the world-class surfing destination and help local businesses get back on their feet.
"I've noticed a huge drop off in numbers of people in the water and numbers of people driving up and down Caves Road with boards on their roofs," Mr Thorson said.
"The shark thing hasn't had an impact on the wine industry so much, but I'll tell you what, there's a heck of a lot less people in the water."
Return of drum lines follows heated debate
WA's previous catch-and-kill policy was introduced in 2014 following a spate of fatal shark attacks along the state's coastline, with baited drum lines set off Perth and South West beaches.
During a 13-week trial, which cost the Government $1.3 million, 68 sharks were caught and shot, although none of them were great whites.
The Barnett government had planned to expand the program for an additional three years, but it was eventually abandoned after the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) recommended against it.
The Federal Government has repeatedly called on WA to revisit the drum line policy.
But the McGowan Government consistently refused to do so, instead focussing on a subsidy for shark deterrent devices when it announced its shark mitigation plans last May.
In June, Mr Kelly estimated it would cost $75 million a year to roll out SMART drum lines along the state's vast coastline.
He also dismissed the idea earlier in the year when CSIRO research showed there was no evidence of an increase in the number of great white sharks off the WA coast over the past decade.
The CSIRO study estimated there were 1,460 adult white sharks as part of the south-western population, which covers an area stretching from WA's mid-west to western Victoria.
However, two months after that research was published, the Government announced it would extend aerial shark patrols off the WA coast into May for the first time, following an unprecedented number of shark interactions.