The Dorsal Fin

Australia’s ABC News is reporting that a 28-year-old man sustained a shark bite to the arm while surfing off North Avoca, NSW yesterday.

The Herald Sun reports that witnesses described the shark as being brown in color and about 1.8m in length. The surfer was taken to Gosford Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. According to the Herald Sun, a hospital spokesman said that the victim was in a satisfactory condition and might not even need stitches.

Central Coast News (KION 46) recently interviewed shark attack survivor Eric Tarantino about his encounter with a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) while surfing off California’s Marina State Beach on October 29, 2011. Tarantino’s injuries from the shark bite have healed, and he plans to head back into the water before the end of the year, according to the interview with Central Coast News.

In addition to setting up a foundation to help Tarantino cover his medical expenses, Vernor Surfboards will be giving Tarantino a new surfboard and wetsuit to help get him back in the water.

Western Australia officials have ruled out the culling of white sharks.

The Australian is reporting that Fisheries Minister Norman Moore has ruled out any cull of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in response to three fatal shark attacks in Western Australia. Instead a newly formed response unit will look examine the effectiveness of shark nets, correlations between weather conditions and shark attacks, and whether or not protection laws have resulted in an increase in the number of the species.

Moore said that his department is trying to balance protecting the species and providing as much information about the probability of shark attacks when they go swimming. Additionally, the response unit will assess the effectiveness of the SMS shark alert system.

Australia’s ABC News recently interviewed CISRO shark researcher Barry Bruce regarding the string of reported white sharks attacks in Western Australia waters. Bruce points out that while white shark attacks are extremely tragic and are “high profile,” they are still extremely rare. Bruce addresses the issues of the “rogue shark” theory, as well as the practice of culling.

According to Bruce, the likelihood of a rogue shark being involved in multiple attacks is highly unlikely. Bruce also states that while there are areas where sharks will commonly frequent, there is no evidence to suggest that they stalk particular areas in search of humans. He goes on to say that there is no evidence to suggest that a shark who has a attacked a human is any more or less likely to be involved in a future attack on a human. Bruce says the extremely rare nature of shark attacks and the migratory patterns and movements of sharks would make localized culling an ineffective measure for reducing future shark attacks.

In related news, the Sydney Morning Herald has an opinion piece by Christopher Neff on shark hunts as a reactive measure to shark attacks. Neff and Bruce both seem to be in agreement that while shark attacks are terrible and tragic events, attempting to hunt and kill the sharks involved is unlikely to prevent future attacks.

The Conversation has an interesting article on the history of shark nets in Australia. The article, written by Christopher Neff, focuses primarily on the use of shark nets in the waters of New South Wales and gives a bit of history about how the nets first came to be. Neff also touches on the politics associated with the nets and the effectiveness of them in protecting humans from shark attacks.

Neff questions the effectiveness of shark nets noting that from 1937-2008 of the recorded shark attacks in New South Wales, 63% of them occurred at beaches using shark nets. He also points out that only one fatal attack has occurred at a netted beach in the state, but cautions that associating low fatality rates with the nets might be questionable, as there was a three year period in which the nets were removed and no fatalities were reported.

While the Neff certainly seems to lean in the direction of opposing the nets he admits that the issue of Australia’s shark nets is not a simple matter. Neff stresses the need for public safety measures and points out that the consequences from shark attacks can be “terrible.” However, he notes that public dialog and education are necessary to move away from outdated tactics that are leaving Australia behind.

You can check Neff’s full article at The Conversation.