Come to a joint crawling with Whites and where no one gets hurt…
A week ago, “terrifying” and “chilling” drone footage emerged of two Great Whites swimming under three surfers at Tuncurry, a pretty little fishing town with an occasionally good beachbreak four hours north of Sydney.
A local drone pilot regularly patrols the skies above the main beach in town and what everyone thought but couldn’t prove until he got his little chopper into the sky, was that the place is crawling with Great Whites.
I’ve riffed on it here; Chas did it here.
What recent headlines (“Death lies beneath!”) miss, I think, is the obvious conclusion from recent events.
Great Whites, at least the squad that patrols this stretch of beach, find little of value in the bones of human beings, something the surfers involved in the rumpus were quick to realise.
“We could hear a drone going and I’m like ‘where is that coming from?’ And we turned around and there’s a dude running down the beach to come wave us out of the water yelling ‘there’s two Whites behind you!'”one of the surfers told Channel Nine’s The Today Show.
“I actually found it quite reassuring that they’re not interested in us, they were just swimming past and happened to run into us,” said another.
“I reckon it happens on a near daily basis here,” said the third.
He ain’t wrong.
A recent six-month smart drum line trial run along the area’s beaches caught, and released, sixty-five Great Whites, two Tigers, no Bulls, and seventeen “non-target” sharks including five absolutely stunning thresher sharks.
And, still, not a bite, a nudge, nothing, in Tuncurry.
Unlike at Boomerang Beach, a few clicks south.
This story’ll put the wind up ya, as they say in these parts.
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Just had a thought brewed up in the shed over a couple but why not just chuck a fkn beacon in the water pumping out staunch Orca vibes?
i have wondered the same, or shark’s screaming vibes, as in an orca is eating me, run, run, run vibes
I’ve heard cursed whispers of a full 90’s wingnut Fanno airbrush on the bottom of ya board is the only core deterrent..
Right ! Can we now all agree that the increase in shark contact/sightings is due to an increase in shark populations and not as the green machine has propounded as a shortage of food thereby forcing the poor hungry sharkies and their little bitty young on to the beaches.
The scientists haven’t got a clue as to how many sharks are out there – yes, tagging and whatnot but despite their best efforts to sound authoritative – they are in best guess mode. And that ain’t science and should be seen for what it is. Hell, it’s almost anecdotal – but with numbers and budgets. Jeez, any local comm fisherman can tell ya – or a scumbag surfer but why believe them ?
Time for common sense to prevail in many coastal areas.
Apparently if you’ve had a flu shot they won’t eat you?
Unsure – Sharks or Greens ?
Greens are usually whites
It’s very confusing
Not the flu shot. That does nothing. The only thing that works is a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine and bleach.
He looks fantastic!!
Really strong robust leader.
The health care workers are taking it and they don’t die anymore
Can we all agree the increase in shark sightings is causally related to the increase in mid lengths?
More likely to taste/investigate 7’2 to 8’ Shape
God willing, yes.
[Chas trembles in Cardiff.]
The only people pushing that ‘hungry sharks attack humans cos there’s no fish left’ line are the tabloids and associated crazies.
Healthy ecosystem = more sharks.
But yeah nobody seems to have any real idea of population numbers. They’re only really starting to establish baselines now with this sorta research. Might pay dividends in 15 years time but cold comfort right now.
The, mostly, lack of interest in humans is a wonderful revelation.
One line taken by academics who clearly have no idea about fishing came from their analyses of Queensland Shark Control drumline data. It showed whalers, tigers and hammerheads down 64, 71 and 92%. Claims were made for better protection and of course more funding for themselves.
Problem was that since the early 1990’s dolphins had been removing baits off longlines within seconds of being baited. The academics were aware that $900,000 went into looking at the problem but due to a political correctness in Government at minimum was not mentioned. The odd fisherman is aware that NO BAIT EQUALS NO CATCH. The academics were not.
A different but similar thing occurred in nets, there was a period when sharks actively avoided nets, they do now but for a different reason. All documented. Totally buried due to political correctness.
Yes, every fishery operator no matter what the sector, is going berserk about the increase in shark numbers. Even some academics are jumping ship from the save-the-shark bandwagon (and fund me) and jumping on the reduce-the-fishing-to-save-the-sharks bandwagon (and still fund me).