Fatal Queensland Shark Attack Reignites Debate Over 1.5-Metre Protection Rule

"The amount of sharks moving north from places like Yamba, tweed and surrounding areas at the moment is incredible."

The death of a thirty-nine-year-old man in far north Queensland earlier today, killed while spearfishing, has sparked calls for the state government to close a law that protects all sharks over a metre and a half or five feet, as well as a blanket protection on Great Whites.

An effective ban on giving hell to man-eating sharks.

It’s the second fatal shark attack in Australian waters in as many weeks, after a 38-year-old Perth man off Rottnest Island eight days back.

Anyway, fact of life these days, another fatal shark attack, another family ruined, kids without a dad and so on, and Joel Nancarrow, whom we all know real well now, has got his comments running hot after he slammed the Queensland gov’s metre-and-a-half policy in a series of Facebook posts.

Unfortunately a man has been killed in a shark attack in qld today.

This whole problem started in qld around 15 yrs ago when for what ever reason, their fisheries decided it was a good idea to protect ANY shark over 1.5m in length.

Qld is different to NSW as they get tigers coming into the beaches as well as bulls, yet they still choose to make up silly rules.

This also comes at a time that there is an active petition going around to life the 1.5m laws, if this doesn’t give their department a massive wake up call, I don’t know what will.

That old saying “more chance of being struck by lightning” is really starting to lose its meaning.

And, in an attempt to explain the fatal attack,

Qld shark advise!!!!

I’ve spent the afternoon looking at the reasons behind today’s fatal shark attack!!!!!

I’m not from the area and don’t know enough to put random words of warning out there, I try so hard to make sure that what I say to you guys is nothing but 100 percent experience based knowledge.

I’ve looked into everything and I’m pretty confident that it’s not just a random incident.

The amount of sharks moving north from places like Yamba, Tweed and surrounding areas at the moment is incredible. Unfortunately as I said earlier in the week, NSW and Qld DPI don’t have the data overlapping on their systems, this means once the sharks cross the boarder, they are almost untraceable, (by the public anyway).

These sharks heading to the north would undoubtedly be putting feeding pressure on the sharks that have been in Qld for a period of time, this pressure would make sharks that usually pass up a feed more likely to take opportunities they haven’t needed to take in recent months, this is the reason we often see attacks early and late in the seasons.

(If you’re at a party with 10 people and 10 plates of food, your in no rush. Another 100 people turn up without warning, you’re grabbing that plate aren’t you?)

This all comes back onto the Qld dpi, they protect the big sharks that end up migrating south.

These big sharks ALWAYS, migrate north at the end of the season and turn back up in Qld bigger than they were when they left, they are then protected for another 4 months until they (and the new generation that have matured this season) migrate again the following summer.

So every single season, there will be more and more mature bulls traveling south and returning north.

The longer they are protected up there over 1.5m the longer this is going to happen, it will become much worse though.

You are literally providing a safe haven for a shark that loves inland and coastal waters with the highest testosterone in the whole animal kingdom and letting their numbers expand without any intervention at all every year, humans are a part of the foodchain, protecting these sharks, you are messing with nature in a very dangerous situation.

This is the Qld DPI fault, there’s no denying it at all.

The solution is to open up the restrictions, it won’t be an instant fix and may take 5/10 years to level out, but if it’s not done, in 5/10 years, the water will not be safe to swim in at all.

I’m confident enough after having a good look that this will definitely be the reason and the next month is a danger period there due to the large number of BIG sharks traveling past the beaches up there, I’m sorry I didn’t look into it sooner, I know it’s not my job but I still apologize!!!!!!!

As for all the people that write, “It’s the sharks home”

There are many people on here that have been impacted by these events. How about instead of being tough behind your phone screen, I can organize a family member of a victim for you to say it to in person?

Which side do you fall on, the it’s-the-shark’s-home-don’t-like-it-don’t-go-in-the-ocean or are you are a little more pragmatic, acutely aware of the dead beast between your hamburger bun, say, and think, how about we just peel off a little bit of coastal waters for human use ie. give bigger sharks a little hell until they beat it?

I can fall on either side depending on mood and, or, current level of testosterone.