Stupid and destructive policy from an arrogant and destructive man!

A TIGER shark - believed to be just 2m - was pulled up dead this morning on a drum line at Leighton Beach.

This is despite the Barnett Government saying its controversial new catch-and-kill shark policy is meant to be targeting only sharks above 3m.

The animal was lifeless as it pulled up a metal shoot at the rear of the Department of Fisheries vessel about 6.45am.

Fisheries take their first shark before 7am this morning just off Leighton beach. Picture Theo Fakos Source: News Limited

A black towel was placed over its bleeding head and the shark remains on board the PV Hamelin as it continues to check baited hooks set up along the WA coast.

Cottesloe gridlock at pro-shark protest

Shark attack victim bites back at cull policy

This morning, no sharks were found on hooks at Port Beach and Cottesloe Beach and North Cottesloe Beach.

Late this morning, Surf Life Saving WA has advised a 2.3m tiger shark was caught off Scarborough and released 1.4km offshore.

Earlier this morning, an anti-cull protester locked herself onto the Fisheries vessel in in the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour at about 4.30am.

Anti-cull protesters said the woman was a 19-year-old boiler maker from Fremantle.

The Marine Response Unit, a collective of ant-cull campaigners, said she used a steel thumb lock to attach herself to the sonar of the PV Hamelin.

WA Police say they attended and spoke to the woman and she was unable to free herself because of the way the lock device was made.

Three fire trucks, two police cars and an ambulance vehicle arrived at the scene at about 5am.

Seven firefighters boarded the vessel and used a grinder to release Ms Smith in about 10 minutes.

The 19-year-old Fremantle woman was issued with a move-on notice by police and will be summonsed at a later date for trespassing.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/undersize-tiger-shark-found-dead-on-drum-line-at-perth-beach/story-fnhocxo3-1226815535789

No WA Shark Cull

So everyone has heard of shark fin soup even if they haven't actually seen it....But do you actually know HOW it's made?? The following was posted September 4th  2013 by the Facebook page Fin Free Melbourne. 


"We all recognise the 'fin in a bowl' depiction used by many shark finning awareness campaigns. But what part of the fin is actually targeted for this so called delicacy, Shark Fin Soup? And how?
In this image you can see the "Fin Needles", the part of the fin which is used in shark fin soup. Longer needles and a higher needle content is found in larger fins, hence the higher value of larger fins from our bigger, pelagic shark species. Dried or frozen fins are processed via soaking and boiling to remove the gelatinous material and expose the fin needles. This ingredient adds ONLY texture to the dish. Ecological damage, immense cruelty, the devastating collapse and looming extinction of our planets oldest and most significant species....all for a bowl of soup???"


EDIT: I'm not saying people shouldn't eat or even that people must all become vegetarians... I'm just saying don't eat sharks and then bitch that by some astronomical chance you get bitten by a shark.... You have no grounds to bitch when you've eaten their relatives!!!

Cullling and protests

Apparently the government and particularly the state government has the mental capacity of a malfunctioning Darlek in their quest to "exterminate" everything that they are afraid of and unfortunately the creature currently caught in their spotlight is that vicious man eating machine The Shark.

Never mind that they are truly beautiful creatures who have been on this earth for far longer than ANY kind of human and never mind that we swim in what is essentially THEIR DINNER BOWL. It's all good because the government and particularly Mr Colin Barnett has of course got the public's best interests at heart. And of course the more that he lets the media go nuts over-dramatising the current "shark frenzy" the less heat he has on the construction of his (unwanted by the public and frankly wasteful) Elizabeth Quay project. Because the more the public and media think about sharks the less they are then thinking of how much money Mr. Barnett is WASTING on UNWANTED, UNNECESSARY, and POINTLESS infrastructure when he could be spending the money on legitimate ventures such as building life guard platforms at ALL beaches and particularly surf beaches, building more medical centers and ESPECIALLY at surf beach locations where there is always at least one person working and able to treat shark bite injuries, shark netting with the new nets that are being tested that are less likely for marine animals to get caught or even donating some money into research budgets for scientists who study sharks to help them develop shark repellent devices that will actually accurately work on a 99.9% basis. (Sucks if you get in that tiny fraction that the accuracy doesn't cover but it would be better than only 10%)

Below is the website for a petition against the culling so if there is anyone out there that actually reads my blog if you could PLEASE take a couple of minutes to put your name and address and sign this petition!!!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-australian-senate-prevent-proactive-killing-of-white-sharks-in-australia-2

This is the petition against the culling which is being conducted by Greenpeace.
https://www.greenpeace.org.au/action/?cid=60&src=SHFB1

Below is a link for the WA "Government's" apparent "justification" for not implementing shark netting on beaches s opposed to the ecologically and environmentally damaging drum line method.
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/shark-enclosures-costly-wa-govt-says-20120903-25991.html#ixzz2ptuyYLCj

So if the governement and Colin Barnett think that they can ignore 3,500+ people then he is in for a nasty shock when we keep protesting this DISGUSTING policy!!! UP AND AT 'EM!!!

Shark attack patterns

Most people such as divers, snorkelers, surfers, surf life savers, divers and fishermen accept that there is a risk of being bitten by a shark every time they go in the water. Sure the chances may be 1 in a million of being bitten but they are still aware that it is the risk they take. And they will still choose to go do their chosen activities (whether for work or recreation) in what is essentially the shark's dinner bowl knowing that risk is there.

What is perhaps more telling is that when there is an attack the family of the person or persons bitten nearly always say that their son/daughter/husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/mentor/best friend or whatever knew those risks of going in the ocean and did it any way because what they were doing at their time was something they loved doing. They also nearly always say that they don't want the shark to be culled. (Which I personally think is fantastic considering that sharks have been around for millions of years and actually descended from dinosaurs.)

However when reading about shark attacks (both in Australia and around the world) there are a few similarities that keep cropping up in a lot of the attack stories. There are also some things that go against what experts say in relation to reducing the risk of making yourself a target as a shark chew toy.

Some of these similarities are what locals call "perfect shark conditions" which are commonly noted as dark, stormy or overcast skies as well as food source activity in the near vicinity where the attack takes place such as seals, whales, dolphins or large schools of fish. Other things that have been noted is swimming, surfing or body boarding alone at dusk or dawn- both of which are natural shark feeding times.

-Experts have always suggested that swimming in groups reduces your risks of being bitten. But this doesn't always work. The following excerpt and link is from one of the news stories that followed the death of 21 year old body boarder and surfer who was bitten at the popular surf spot the Boneyards.

""There was another 20 people in the water as well," Mr McLeay said."
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/shark-attack-claims-life-at-bunker-bay/story-e6frg14u-1226129165960

What is a shark?

The following definition is from Google.

Shark

noun

noun: shark; plural noun: sharks; noun: red-tailed black shark; plural noun: red-tailed black sharks; noun: black shark; plural noun: black sharks

1.      1.

a long-bodied chiefly marine fish with a cartilaginous skeleton, a prominent dorsal fin, and tooth-like scales. Most sharks are predatory, though the largest kinds feed on plankton, and some can grow to a large size.

However due to what psychologists call “primal fear” a lot of people define sharks in much simpler ways such as long, grey marine creature that has a huge mouth full of very sharp teeth.  (My mom jokes about them being like enthusiastic and extremely curious children that don’t attack humans, but instead “play”. Only problem is that humans are not durable play mates.)

Also below is from Google.

1.    Shark

Fish

2.    Sharks are a group of fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Wikipedia

3.     

4.    Scientific name: Selachimorpha

5.    Lifespan: 20 – 30 y (In Wild)

6.    Speed: 8 km/h on average (Adult, In The Water, Swimming)

7.    Rank: Superorder

8.    Higher classification: Elasmobranchii

9.    Lower classifications: Lamniformes, Squatiniformes, Hexanchiformes, Squaliformes, Pristiophoriformes, Carcharhiniformes, Heterodontiformes, Carpet shark

The four most recognised types of shark (out of water and who get mistaken for

each other in the water) are below with their names underneath.

This is the Great White shark or Carcharodon carcharias (Alternative names: white pointer, white shark, white death.) and the shark that is held responsible for most shark attacks in Australia.

This is the Tiger shark or Galeocerdo cuvier. The almost tiger like stripes along the back are part of the reason why they are referred to by that name.

This is the Bronze Whaler or Carcharhinus brachyurus. The Bronze Whaler and Bull sharks are sometimes mistaken for each other for the more defined triangle section at the tip of the tail as well as the more longer, pointed nose despite the colour difference.



And lastly this is the Bull Shark or Carcharhinus leucas. (Alternative names: river whaler, freshwater whaler, Swan River whaler)

All pictures are courteous of the below website.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/info/sharksmart/identifying-sharks