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Version 1 Version 2
Sharks are a fact of life in Western Australia – they're even on Twitter Sharks are a fact of life in Western Australia – they're even on Twitter
(7 months later)
It was a calm, grey morning in November 2000, when the unthinkable happened. It was a calm, grey morning in November 2000, when the unthinkable happened. A group of regular North Cottesloe swimmers were taking their early morning dip when one of their own was attacked by a great white in waist-deep water. Witnesses tell how the shark circled its victim, Ken Crew, in tight symmetrical circles, before it lunged at him and ripped his leg off. The shark then turned towards the shore. By this stage a large amount of blood was visible in the ocean.
A group of regular North Cottesloe swimmers were taking their early Dirk Avery, nearly at shore after finishing his morning swim, was oblivious to what happened until he heard “shark attack!” He turned around to see the great white only a metre away. Avery managed to push the shark away, which was now struggling and thrashing in the shallow waters. He escaped with severe cuts but survived. Crew was not so lucky. After being brought to shore he died on the beach. That grey calmness of that morning would come to be known as “sharky weather”.
morning dip when one of their own was attacked by a great white in For anyone growing up in Western Australia sharks were always a vague fear in the back of everyone’s mind, but the attack on Crew and Avery brought a visceral reality to the imagined threat. To say the psyche of the city changed that day is not an exaggeration, but rather than flee from the shores that so define Perth, West Australians have come to accept the dangers their favourite beachside pastimes bring with them. It’s a truth they’ve had to revisit more than they’d like.
waist-deep water. Witnesses tell how the shark circled its victim, Ken Since that day in 2000, there have been 11 fatal shark attacks in WA, the highest rate of shark attacks in the world (the chance of being attacked has doubled in that time, but still remains low at one in a million). It’s on the minds of every West Australian when they enter the ocean. University of Western Australia researchers believe the increase has more to do with an explosion in Perth’s population than shark numbers. The latest fatal attack, a 35-year-old surfer taken in Gracetown, saw the WA government implement a shark cull, allowing for great white, tiger, and bull sharks larger than three metres to be killed, while smaller sharks are to be released.
Crew, in tight symmetrical circles, before it lunged at him and ripped There has been widescale public revolt. To fully understand the backlash against the cull one needs to understand Australia’s relationship with the ocean. Surrounded by the sea, our pristine beaches have come to represent so much of our national identity, and within that so has the image of the great white. These predators are now national folklore. Along with strong scientific doubts the cull will achieve much, the sanctioned killing of sharks cuts away at the very fabric of our identity, something the WA government, headed by Colin Barnett (dubbed Cullin’ Barnett by locals), has failed to grasp.
his leg off. The shark then turned towards the shore. By this stage a Before the WA government’s decree, ads have been played across Perth radios the last couple of years warning people to be aware of sharks while swimming (particularly around dusk and dawn). People took the message in their stride. Scientists recently started to use the a the Surf Lifesaving WA Twitter feed (@SLSWA) to warn surfers and swimmers when sharks are nearing shore. But it is the sharks themselves who were doing the tweeting, with at least 320 sharks, including great whites, equipped with transmitters that update Twitter with information about their movements up and down the coast. When a tagged shark comes within about one kilometre of a beach it triggers an alert like this: “Fisheries advise: tagged tiger shark detected at Garden Island (north end) receiver at 07:58:00 AM on 9-Feb-2014.” Sometimes there are as many as eight tweets like that in a day. The messages are as much a testimony to the acceptance of the (tweeting!) presence of these ocean inhabitants as they are a warning to stay clear.
large amount of blood was visible in the ocean.
Dirk
Avery, nearly at shore after finishing his morning swim, was oblivious
to what happened until he heard “shark attack!” He turned around to see
the great white only a metre away. Avery managed to push the shark away,
which was now struggling and thrashing in the shallow waters. He
escaped with severe cuts but survived. Crew was not so lucky. After
being brought to shore he died on the beach. That grey calmness of that
morning would come to be known as “sharky weather”.
For
anyone growing up in Western Australia sharks were always a vague fear
in the back of everyone’s mind, but the attack on Crew and Avery brought
a visceral reality to the imagined threat. To say the psyche of the
city changed that day is not an exaggeration, but rather than flee from
the shores that so define Perth, West Australians have come to accept
the dangers their favourite beachside pastimes bring with them. It’s a
truth they’ve had to revisit more than they’d like.
Since that day in 2000, there have been 11 fatal shark attacks in WA, the highest rate of shark attacks in the world (the chance of being attacked has doubled in that time, but still remains low at one in a million). It’s on the minds of every West Australian when they enter the ocean. University of Western Australia researchers believe
the increase has more to do with an explosion in Perth’s population
than shark numbers. The latest fatal attack, a 35-year-old surfer taken
in Gracetown, saw the WA government implement a shark cull, allowing for
great white, tiger, and bull sharks larger than three metres to be killed,
while smaller sharks are to be released.
There has been widescale public revolt.
To fully understand the backlash against the cull one needs to
understand Australia’s relationship with the ocean. Surrounded by the
sea, our pristine beaches have come to represent so much of our national
identity, and within that so has the image of the great white. These
predators are now national folklore. Along with strong scientific doubts
the cull will achieve much, the sanctioned killing of sharks cuts away
at the very fabric of our identity, something the WA government, headed
by Colin Barnett (dubbed Cullin’ Barnett by locals), has failed to
grasp.
Before the WA government’s decree, ads have been played across Perth radios
the last couple of years warning people to be aware of sharks while
swimming (particularly around dusk and dawn). People took the message in
their stride. Scientists recently started to use the a the Surf
Lifesaving WA Twitter feed (@SLSWA)
to warn surfers and swimmers when sharks are nearing shore. But it is
the sharks themselves who were doing the tweeting, with at least 320
sharks, including great whites, equipped with transmitters that update
Twitter with information about their movements up and down the coast.
When a tagged shark comes within about one kilometre of a beach it
triggers an alert like this:
“Fisheries advise: tagged tiger shark detected at Garden Island (north
end) receiver at 07:58:00 AM on 9-Feb-2014.” Sometimes there are as many
as eight tweets like that in a day. The messages are as much a
testimony to the acceptance of the (tweeting!) presence of these ocean
inhabitants as they are a warning to stay clear.
Fisheries advise: tagged Tiger shark detected at Garden Island (north end) receiver at 07:56:00 AM on 9-Feb-2014Fisheries advise: tagged Tiger shark detected at Garden Island (north end) receiver at 07:56:00 AM on 9-Feb-2014
West West Australians in particular are used to harsh environments. Perth sits on the edge of a desert, essentially a big mining town with the new BHP building erected like a stake in the heart of the city, laying its claim. While, for the most part, people willingly scour the land for minerals to bask in the glory of the lifestyle it grants (including large boats they moor for the summer along Rottnest Island), the line has always been in the sand. It its an unspoken law that the ocean is out of bounds. It demands respect. On average more people die in WA in a year while hunting abalone than being “hunted” by sharks. They know the risk and yet they take it. That has always been the way of the West.
Australians in particular are used to harsh environments. Perth sits on
the edge of a desert, essentially a big mining town with the new BHP
building erected like a stake in the heart of the city, laying its
claim. While, for the most part, people willingly scour the land for
minerals to bask in the glory of the lifestyle it grants (including
large boats they moor for the summer along Rottnest Island), the line
has always been in the sand. It its an unspoken law that the ocean is
out of bounds. It demands respect. On average more people die in WA in a year
while hunting abalone than being “hunted” by sharks. They know the risk
and yet they take it. That has always been the way of the West.
This article was amended on 10 February 2014; it is the BHP building, not the BP building.This article was amended on 10 February 2014; it is the BHP building, not the BP building.