"The sightings have been out of control. Please spread the word. We can’t lose anyone else.”
The Streaky Bay fisherman Jeff Schmucker got it right last week when he described the population of Great White sharks in Australian as “back to pre-white man biomass.”
After Streaky Bay local Lance Appleby was killed by a Great White shark, the fourth fatal attack on a surfer by a White in South Australia in less than two years, Schmucker told the Australian Associated Press the population of Great White sharks had “exploded” to such an extent surfing there was now a risk no one should take unless you had a jetski patrolling alongside.
Twenty-five years ago, fatal Great White attacks on surfers were so rare stories of the few surfers who died by Whites were etched into legend: Marty Ford at Tallows, Byron (1982), Matt Foale, Waitipinga, South Oz (1989), Michael Docherty, Moreton Island, Queensland (1992).
The feeling was, yeah, they’re out there but if you avoid certain stretches of coastline the odds were wildly in your favour. If you wanted to hit remote stretches on known Great White highways, well, good luck ol pal, we’ll mourn you but don’t say you weren’t warned.
Not so much anymore.
In 1999, Australia declared the Great White “vulnerable”and made it illegal to hunt or harass the fish
Since then,
RIP Peter Edmonds, Tadashi Nakahara, Rob Pedretti, Mani Hart-Deville, Mark Sanguinetti, Tim Thompson, Nick Slater, Cameron Bales, Jean Wright, Nick Peterson, Simon Baccanello, Todd Gendle, Khai Cowley, Lance Appleby, Brad Smith, Nick Edwards, Kyle Burden, Ben Linden, Chris Boy, Ben Gerring, Laeticia Brouwer and Andrew Sharpe.
Add to the list all those surfers whose lives have been irrevocably changed by a Great White attack, as well as the swimmers, snorkelers and spear fishermen who’ve died since 2000, and the numbers become insane.
So it’s with more than a grain of salt you might wanna take the latest warnings of Great White activity coming from around Byron and South.
Jed Smith, the darkly sexy half of the Ain’t That Swell team, has listed warnings from Cabarita and Suffolk Park and Ballina, as well as to anyone still thinking of surfing around Streaky Bay.
Cabarita: Big White at Caba yesterday. Went under the lads at South Beach. 2.5 m White right under the lads and then basked around the corner of the headland. Fucking buried whale down at Blackrock for sure.
Ballina/Suffolk Park: Great White shark also seen at North Wall Ballina and Suffolk Park in the past couple days.
Streaky Bay: There’s been more interactions and the sightings in the last week have been out of control. Something is going on, all the local community are aware but many travelling surfers may not be so if you know of anyone on the coastline at the moment please spread the word. We can’t lose anyone else.
Wild times. Eyes open, boys.
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martha stewart shark taco recipe…also erin brockovich cooks quiche…
Cmon man. Even white folks with dreadlocks know they are funny, especially when they utter “irie”, “bombaclat” or “lick a shot”. Also they usually know how to make great glass pipes or red/black/green purses for holding ganja.
interesting, because one one hand you’re saying that regulating (croc Dundee) is a bad thing and on the other you seem to be saying that the government regulating human/shark interaction(s) is a good thing.
Cullment Section…
Hey, DR. Are there Aussie surfers who consistently surf with one or more shark repulsion devices?
Even something like the stripes below the board? (Which I presume doesn’t work because I almost never see it anymore).
Two surfers in West Marin had a fifteen foot shark surface next to them and got hit by its tail two days ago. No uproar, just another day in weed smoking Nor Cal.
The shark was ripping on some sativa?!?
So is Lucy going to complain that sharks are only going after men?
Good luck controlling that. I think its a huge combination of factors that are going to be difficult to control. There is the shark conservation thing that is purposely intended to increase the numbers, there are changes to the fisheries that reduce the number of “accidental” kills increasing the numbers, add in the massive increase in the number of people using the ocean since the Covid thing happened, throw in some social media and now you have mess that doesn’t seem to be moving towards clean anytime soon.
I’m sure Streaky Bay can be tasty for sharks and people
Jed the day before a swell: Where will it be good the next few days? North Wall for sure. Maybe Suffolk park? But what about Caba though!? Ahhh Fuck. Idk. I’ll just send the shark alert out for all three.
Soo if the story is the “surface” or “waves” per say and the comments are “below the line, underneath, or down at the bottom”. We then, are the “Sharks”.
Perhaps more like Spotties, with the occasional worm-ridden Barracuda.
I identify as a Cunjevoi, thank you VERY much…
Yeh, nuh fuck that. A good sharks a dead shark.
Granted, I went on a rant & I’m being an unreasonable obnoxious cunt, but that analogy’s fucking lame af
Haha and an intelligent redneck doesnt exist.
What’s a WSL comp without live chat? Fucking Alcatraz that’s what!
Funny mate! prepped for the bio brigade, but redneck from a Saffa, that’ll do me.
Believe me when I say we are well qualified to spot one
I’ve made my position clear. Pros, cons & obstruction be damned.
Another 20 years like this & we talk about the good old days when you could surf in the ocean
Haha, Ja destroy nature for humans to have fun. Makes perfect sense. But actually let’s face it, the good old days for surfing are looooooooong gone in Australia and I bet many long for any reason to reduce the number of surfers (not sharks).
white Kaffa?
I don’t think WFWDAF is targeting the Original Inhabitants of Aus, more the white underclass of the colonial brutalist legacy.
Gila sees everything though Ism and Phobia colored glasses.
Smelt fishy at broken the other day. Water like a bath. Though the only things nibbling were those dastardly sea lice.
I got hit by those damn jellies too. Itchy AF now.
I heard Merewether baths has been bad. Always feels icky there.
Lots of weird murky brown patches floating round the other day at The Stretch, algal blooms I assume. Clear water in one spot, then paddle over 10 metres and you can’t see your feet. Some peeps trying blame off-shore fracking.
A few days later the warm water and winds have also held the jellyfish larvae inshore I guess. Hopefull with this big Southerly they fuck off and let me repeatedly not-catch-waves in peace.
What’s the stats on shark attack surfer survival stories vs deaths in OZ?
Deaths in OZ? All Australians have a 100% chance of dying someday.
Ok , here’s a start …about 20 people per year get injured from shark attacks in Australia….and 3 people die per year from sharks…whereas more than 300 people drown a year….it’s the water ,that’s harboring dangerous creatures…Sahara’s nice this time of year!
Albanese talking about too many cabanas tonight, like thats a real issue on our beaches..
Read the fucking room mate & take some federal responsibility for this mess. You’re talking about shade tents when a week ago another young bloke was eaten by a fish protected by law, that your government control & legislate.
What’s Australia without safe beaches? Fucking Alcatraz that’s what!
(Unusually) serious question – who’d support a party with the primary mandate of making our beaches safer? I would.
Someone tells me they will guarantee a cull returning our waters to 90s numbers of whites gets my vote & I’d expect 10s if not 100s of thousands more.
Needs to happen now.
Just wait until the sharks start buying cabanas.
Shit will hit the fan, mate.
I’m more aligned with the theory that the “post aboriginal biomass of drunk bogans” in Australia is responsible for more deaths than any pesky fish in the ocean. Cull, cull, cull. Mick Dundee and Mick Fanning get a pass.
Buy stock in Orca.