# Aussie shark attack



## Bwanablue (May 24, 2004)

http://www.thisislondon.com/til/jsp/modules/Article/print.jsp?itemId=11899496


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## TexLax33 (Jul 4, 2004)

Just read about that on my surfing forum. Poor guy, at least he put up a good fight until the end.


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## ZenDaddy (May 22, 2004)

*Victem's brother: Don't kill shark*

All,

Just pulled this story off CNN. That's one serious shark conservationist. I do wonder what a "a public education campaign to teach people how to live with sharks," would have taught this poor guy. Seemed like he was surfing in the middle of the afternoon ... unless the lesson is not to surf at all.

Any of you have any suggestions what such a public campaign would teach people?

Here's the story:

*SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- The death of a surfer mauled by a shark has rekindled debate over the safety of people swimming off Australia's world-renowned beaches but also the plight of sharks, some species of which are being hunted to the brink of extinction.* 
*SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- The death of a surfer mauled by a shark has rekindled debate over the safety of people swimming off Australia's world-renowned beaches but also the plight of sharks, some species of which are being hunted to the brink of extinction.*

Bradley Adrian Smith, 29, died Saturday afternoon after being savaged in the Indian Ocean off Left Handers Beach, south of Western Australia state capital, Perth.

Witnesses said Smith tried to fight off at least one and possibly two sharks, which officials said most likely were great whites, although they said they could also have been bronze whaler sharks.

Authorities Monday continued to hunt for the killer shark and said they would likely shoot it if they can conclusively prove they have found the animal responsible for Smith's death.

But the shark also found an unlikely ally -- with the dead surfer's brother saying the animal should not be killed.

"I don't believe that the shark should be killed just for the sake of what's happened in this situation," Stephen Smith told reporters on Sunday. "I don't believe that Brad can be revenged by killing a shark."

In many parts of the world, great white sharks, which can grow to 23 feet in length, are listed as an endangered species. They breed at a slow rate and have in the past been targeted by hunters or accidentally caught in fishermen's nets.

Other smaller species of shark are being decimated by fishermen who hunt them for their fins -- a delicacy in some Asian nations -- cutting off the fin before dumping the animal back in the ocean to die.

Orin Lif****z, head curator at the Aquarium of Western Australia in Perth, said hunting for and killing the shark would be not only difficult, but pointless.

"If you hunt him, so what? A day later another one cannot come and kill someone else?" he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

But while many conservationists appeal for sharks to be better protected from humans, authorities in beachside suburbs are more interested in ensuring swimmers are safe.

Many of Australia's most popular beaches are protected by giant nets intended to prevent humans and sharks swimming in the same water.

But even that apparently benign way of preventing attacks has fierce critics, who say the death toll such nets inflict on animals like whales and turtles is not justified given the rarity of shark attacks.

The death last year of an 84-year-old man killed while swimming in an Australian canal linked to the nearby Pacific Ocean was one of only four fatal shark attacks around the world in 2003, according to an international list compiled by Florida Museum of Natural History.

Kate Davey, national coordinator of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said swimmers and surfers should be educated better about the threats posed by sharks.

"Instead of pretending that this issue doesn't exist, and saying put up nets and then we can protect everybody from sharks, what we actually need is a public education campaign to teach people how to live with sharks," Davey said.


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## Mando (May 22, 2004)

if u were the guy who was killed, would u want the shark killed? pesonally i wouldnt


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## Sea-Slug (May 28, 2004)

*Attack*

It is the risk we take when we step in the Marine environment, we are in the food chain. Killing sharks to avenge this guy is just stupid. Sharks are valuable apex predators doing the job mother nature designed them to do. This kind of hysteria will wipe out our sport someday. Everyone who surfs, dives, or surf-fishes knows there is a very tiny risk of being hit. If you dont want the risk- stay out of the water. Your odds are 1 in a million of being killed by a shark in the surf.To go on a shark killing lynch mob is just plain foolish in my opinion. This kind of thinking is a throw back to our kill em all way of thinking. Thank God there are conservation minded people around today who enjoy the catch and release concept of shark fishing. Maybe we can save some for our children and their children to enjoy catching and releasing. There aren't many large sharks in the Texas surf anymore.


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## DannyMac (May 22, 2004)

Little known fact I got from a marine biologist in California when you go into the sea, at any given time with in 1/2 mile there is marine life that can kill you. If my memory is correct, the Texas State Tiger shark record was caught off the Galveston jetties. Don't know the date.


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## Dunc (May 29, 2004)

Sea-Slug said:


> There aren't many large sharks in the Texas surf anymore.


RRRRRight...go take a helicopter view of the beach sometime and tell me you still believe that. It would blow your mind the number and size of sharks right off the beach.


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## Sea-Slug (May 28, 2004)

*Dunc*

True- there are still large sharks off of the Texas Coast. But we know from our fishing heritage and stories passed down there are not near as many big sharks caught now as there were back in the 1940-1950 era and before. We have documentation-photos to prove it. The sawfish, for example, was plentiful in the 1950's, and caught frequently from the old Bob Hall Pier. Sharks have a slow reproduction rate. They are being long-lined faster than they can reach maturity and reproduce. Some species, like Atlantic Sharpnose and Blacktips, have a much higher reproductive rate and are holding up well.I dont consider a 3' Atlantic Sharpnose or a 5' Blacktip as being a large shark. The giant hammers, tigers, and bulls are in a definate decline, drastic decline. There are stll some around sure, but the clock is tickin. Long-lines I believe are are far more devastating on them than recreational anglers. The sharkfin soup craze in Asia is really taking its toll on them. I hope we can be good stewards of our environment and keep some big ones around for my great grandkids to catch and study. I believe that many species will go extinct in the next 50 years.


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## Dunc (May 29, 2004)

Sea-Slug,


As long as none of them bite my butt I'm good with all that


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## DannyMac (May 22, 2004)

SeaSlug, check out Chester Moores article in the August issue of Texas Fish and Game, "Shark Tales". At the end of his intro, he states "Texas has some serious man-eater class sharks".
Hammerheads, Tigers, Mako, and now Great White's, and plenty of Bull sharks to go round. Texas state Tiger shark record....1,129 caught in the Gulf in 1992. A 1980"s news report detailed the catching of a juvenile Great White in Sabine Lake. 

"You need a bigger boat"


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## cregen (Jun 2, 2004)

Dmac the state tiger was caught 20 miles off shore over the heald bank using a whole bonita as bait.There are big sharks within site of the beach ask tarpon guide Mike Williams i read one of his forums on this site were he had a 5 foot black tip at the boat and was about to reach down and un hook it when a huge shark not sure what species came out of know were and ate the shark on his line and in one bite left only the head. Did any body else read that story?


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## Sponge (Jun 22, 2004)

*shark attack*

I agree, the suspect sharks that made the attack should not be killed. If it was a bear then I would consider it. When humans are killed and eaten by bears they are usually hunted down and killed. Once a bear gets taste of human blood then they become a big threat to humans. In this case, it looks like the sharks attacked this person maybe because of mistaken identity. Didn't some of the friends pull his body out of the water? If the shark really enjoyed the taste of him I guarantee they would have left no scraps. He might have been mistaken for a seal or a small whale? Great whites first make a dramatic strike at their prey and leave the prey and wait for them to die to prevent injury to themselves (saw it on discovery). In this case they made their strike and realized he was not their normal prey and left the area. 
Just my opinion. :texasflag


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## pelican (May 22, 2004)

DannyMac said:


> ...A 1980"s news report detailed the catching of a juvenile Great White in Sabine Lake.
> 
> "You need a bigger boat"


Sabine Lake :ac550:  ... where will they be next ?


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## DannyMac (May 22, 2004)

pelican, thats really good!!!!! I am going to make a copy and put it in the window to the boys locker room. I put all kinds of fishing pictures up and the kids get a big kick out of them. Someone posted a picture of a great white about to bite some guy standing next to a flooded car in a creek. Everyone wanted to knowif the shark ate him, I told them sure!!!!!!!!


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## Sea-Slug (May 28, 2004)

*reannyMac*

Cool- I never have heard of a great white being caught off of a Texas Beach or in a Texas Bay, but I always thought it was possible. Has this been verified by a biologist? One of my friends caught a small 4' shark about 10 years ago that he swears was a great white. I think it was a misidentification, even though he is pretty knowledable about Shark ID. I wish I could find a link to that article. We know that they come in the Gulf, but I just dont think they have ever been caught in the surf or bays in Texas where the ID was confirmed by a marine biologist. I would love to catch one.


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