SHARK WARS!

You've probably heard about the TV series called Whale Wars...That's the program on Animal Planet that shows the battle that goes on between Japanese Whalers and Whale activists.

LINK TO MADISON STEWART'S VIDEO 'OBSTRUCTION IS JUSTICE' -

What you may not have heard of is another battle over sharks in Australia - I call it Shark Wars!

This war is between government authorities in Western Australia who are trying to reduce shark attacks on humans - and shark lovers trying to stop Government attacks on Sharks.

How this all got started is pretty simple. Western Australia is a mecca for tourism. It's an area filled with great beaches and a big part of their economy is dependent on lots a people having a good vacation there. But over the last few years, shark attacks on people swimming at some of WA best beaches have been growing. Just look at this graph showing the spike in the last few years.

Some people say this is only because there are more people in the water. Others blame it on chumming by fishermen. And some even say its due to sharks gaining "protected status" under Australian laws!

In response, the Western Australian Government came up with what they called a "Shark Mitigation Program". It was a program to catch and destroy killer sharks. This included Bull Sharks, Tiger Sharks, and the one's most responsible for the attacks, the Great White Shark!

Professional fishermen along with experts from the Australian Fisheries Department laid 72 drum lines to bait and hook the sharks. Sharks caught on the bait hooks that were over 10 ft got a bullet to the head and dumped back into the sea. Sharks that were too small were tagged and released.


Protests over the shark mitigation program erupted quickly. Animal activists, Surfers, politicians, and citizens of all sorts claimed the program added to the general demise of sharks and would not solve the problem. In fact, they backed the idea that sharks should be protected because lots of tourists like to view sharks!

On the other side, the government said the decision was clear.... Putting human life above that of the sharks. The Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett put it this way : "It was a tough decision but it was a decision that had to be made."

Joining the government in support of the shark mitigation program are families who lost loved ones to the sharks and an Australian association of lifeguards. Other supporters of the Government program are a variety of fishermen and tourism interests that include diving operators...

Despite the powerful economic incentives to support the shark cull , a poll in a local newspaper showed most of its respondents were against it.

A possible reason for this is that the protesters were better at communicating their message.

In a documentary by filmmaker Madison Stewart called "Obstruction is Justice, the raw day to day shark battles between the government and protesters was recorded.


In an email interview, Madison told me she made the video so the public could see the truth up close. She said the smaller sharks were being killed just by the fact that they were not taken off the hooks fast enough.

Those that were released were often still in shock and couldn't swim on their own...

By the end of the 3 month program, a total of 172 sharks were caught. Fifty of those were Tiger sharks greater than 10 feet which were then destroyed. No great whites were captured or killed. Eight other animals were also captured, including stingrays. The Western Australian government is seeking approval to extend the program for three more years.

And that my friends brings me to the question of the day. Do you think the Western Australian Government should keep this program of catching sharks going, or do you think there is a way to protect people that is less lethal to sharks? Let me know what you think in the comment section below!

MORE FACTS FOR YOUR GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE SHARK MITIGATION PROGRAM

The Western Australian shark cull is the common term for a state government policy of capturing and killing large sharks by use of baited drum lines. The policy was implemented in 2014 to protect users of the marine environment from shark attack following the deaths of seven people on the Western Australian coastline in the years 2010 to 2013. National public demonstrations opposing the policy have attracted international attention to the issue.

Australia's Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt granted the WA Government a temporary exemption from national environment laws protecting great white sharks, to allow the otherwise illegal acts of harming or killing the species