Australia’s Bizarre Shark Kill Nets No Great Whites

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In this photo released by Sea Shepherd, a male tiger shark hangs tied up on a fishing boat off Moses Rock on the Western Australian coast on Feb. 22.  (AP Photo/Sea Shepherd)
In this photo released by Sea Shepherd, a male tiger shark hangs tied up on a fishing boat off Moses Rock on the Western Australian coast on Feb. 22.
(AP Photo/Sea Shepherd)

Our oceans are collapsing due to overfishing, pollution, and climate change.  A large group of scientists predict, based on years of research, that by 2048 the seas will no longer be able to sustain life and an entire ecosystem will vanish.

One of the many reasons for the decline has been long line fishing for sharks, where an estimated 75 million are killed each year by Japan, China, and others. Never once would anyone have thought that Australia, literally ground zero for global warming, would have joined that murderous club, but following the election of a hard right conservative government that appears to be the case.

From Newser:

Australia killed 50 big sharks in the first test of its controversial shark cull program, though none were great whites—the type blamed for the attacks on swimmers that sparked the cull in the first place, reports ABC News of Australia. The government set baited hooks near seven beaches in West Australia and caught 172 sharks from January to April, when the program ended. It killed the 50 biggest ones, mostly tiger sharks about 10 feet or longer, and released the rest, reports the Australian.

“I think the strategy’s gone very well, bearing in mind that it’s a very broad strategy, and that’s basically to protect those people that swim in those popular areas,” says a government fisheries official. The feds want to extend the program, put into place after great whites killed six swimmers, for another three years. But critics are pouncing on the obvious: “So we know that the great white shark is the shark that has been implicated in fatalities off our coast, and no great white sharks were captured on the drum lines in this whole program,” says a member of the opposition Greens party.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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9 years ago

Great White’s and, indeed, other types of sharks are living creatures of Earth. They have as much – probably more – entitlement to be here than we do.

Humanity isn’t a life form. It’s a virus.

When nature finds a cure we’ll be gone and we’ll only have ourselves to blame.

Jess
9 years ago

Why not release them a little further out so they don’t have to be killed like this. I am getting sick of people again.

Josh Taylor
9 years ago

Wow, what purpose do these countries have for sharks? Must be lucrative? Who is buying?

9 years ago

It seems the Great Whites may be smarter than the other sharks. Yes, the program is idiotic.

Think about it, what has any government ever involved itself in that it hasn’t made worse?

Rachael
9 years ago

This is so sad and it just shows what happens when the republican types are in charge. Someone needs to hunt them.

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