Why Are they Shooting Sharks in Australia ?

[gravosa]

Originally Posted by ahnutts!

Agreed, if a particular shark likes the taste of human its gotta go.

as long as they are eating americans i do not mind

[CharlieCobra]

Originally Posted by gravosa

as long as they are eating americans i do not mind

You do try hard don't you?

[Jimbo485]

Anecdotal evidence points to the conclusion that it is mainly tourists from the USA and Japan that die a horrible death in Australia. Not sure why and maybe that is just my impression from newspaper reports over the years. Generally - and this could be a huge generalisation - those from the USA get eaten and the Japanese drown. Either way, it keeps the Australian wildlife fed.

We love the yanks, don´t get too sensitive, mates!!

And apparently you taste great as well!!

[Tellie]

Trolling is fine, even thinly veiled as humor. I have a thick skin. DOJ may not, but he speaks for himself. But if this one sidedness continues I would expect the Mods to step up or allow equal time without Mod interference.

[capn_billl]

Is it just me, or did the rate of shark attacks go up about the time "shark feeding" tours became popular??

I see the ads all the time now, "Get in a cage and P*&s off a bunch of sharks"...later an unsuspecting tourist goes diving without the cage in the same spot.

[swagman]

Originally Posted by motion30

so they put out a 'hit' on the shark?

Sorry can't answer as we're not local any more. But can recall an earlier attack years back and yes, some local fishermen went out with rifles and eventually killed the shark with apparent official blessing.

In case anyones worried, there are not hundreds inside the reefs to choose from - so little risk of mistaken identity.

From what I remember of the press report, that earlier shark did not go down without a struggle. It left a substantial tooth lodged in the fishing boats bow...............

Cheers
JOHN

Cheers

[Katiusha]

Originally Posted by downunder

Its the other way around in aus as recent event demonstrated. Clean water also at Rottennest Is.

It's the opposite in South Africa, where I got my knowledge (and experience of diving with them) from.

Good to know it's not a case of hyped up media...

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Trolling is fine, even thinly veiled as humor. I have a thick skin. DOJ may not, but he speaks for himself. But if this one sidedness continues I would expect the Mods to step up or allow equal time without Mod interference.

We all are subjected to a little teasing occasionally. One of the things that occurs in the forum is that one group or another feels they have to put up with more then any other group. It may be based on nationality, boat choice or political affiliation. None of you sees what moderators actually do so you only see what affects you and this can lead to that perception.

There have been comments removed from this thread and comments left. gravosa's comment isn't obviously humourous but I thought that Charlie Cobra's response to it was adequate and appropriate. Humour is important and we certainly aren't about to root out every instance of it in the interest of not stepping on anyone's toes. It's not an easy line to draw however.

[bene505]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

Is it just me, or did the rate of shark attacks go up about the time "shark feeding" tours became popular??

I see the ads all the time now, "Get in a cage and P*&s off a bunch of sharks"...later an unsuspecting tourist goes diving without the cage in the same spot.

As a fairly new scuba diver, all I have to say is "Wow"! Talk about being in the wrong place!

Any chance they'd mark shark-cage areas on a chart or something? Or do the locals know where the cage divers go?

Regards,
Brad

[hummingway]

People are starting to realize that feeding sharks is a poor idea. It reminds me of feeding bears which was common in the national parks of Canada in the 50's. Tourists would get a real kick out of seeing a bear hold a bottle of pop and drink from it. People would feed bread and so forth to the bears out of car windows and the braver, or perhaps drunken, ones would get out and feed them. There was one fellow who, feeling the bear had eaten enough, stuffed the bread in his back pocket and began walking back to his car. The bear thought it was now self-serve but unfortunately their fingers don't articulate well and come equipped with sharp tools. I'm sure that fellow got through life just fine with only one butt cheek. Tourists are a precious resource and the gov't began a "please don't feed the bears" program much to the dismay of the bears, who hadn't figured out how to vote and so had to accept their lot of berries, roots and grubs.

[captain58sailin]

I once took a park ranger from Yellowstone park fishing and he told me about a man who put his baby on the back of a grizzly bear, for photo ops.

[sailingmonica]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

If you go in the water and look like food (seals) you are a fool.

Shooting sharks is probably the most lamebrained idea I have heard of.

Speaking of lamebrain: orcas eat seals but never mistake a human for a seal. Why? Because they have developed brains.

On the other hand, sharks have TINY LITTLE BRAINS and TWO PENISES...

They have survived because they eat and poop and make baby sharks and don't give a damn about anything. Plus, they have no predators, except for humans. The eternal argument that sharks are needed to keep the balance in our oceans should allow for the counter-argument that somebody has to keep the shark population under control.

So, is there a link to donate to the Australians for more ammo?

[captain58sailin]

Where is the donation button for the "Save the Sharks Foundation"?

[sailingmonica]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Where is the donation button for the "Save the Sharks Foundation"?

Right next to the one for "Save the Divers Dressed Like Seals Foundation".

[ahnutts!]

Originally Posted by Jimbo485

Anecdotal evidence points to the conclusion that it is mainly tourists from the USA and Japan that die a horrible death in Australia. Not sure why and maybe that is just my impression from newspaper reports over the years. Generally - and this could be a huge generalisation - those from the USA get eaten and the Japanese drown. Either way, it keeps the Australian wildlife fed.

We love the yanks, don´t get too sensitive, mates!!

And apparently you taste great as well!!

I think Americans have taken too much heat in this thread, its the Ausies who have the
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