Stinkin' Dead Shark Award October 2008

At the end of this month we would like to present the SDS Award to those within the global community whose abjectly abhorrent behavior towards sharks and sustainable fisheries or shark conservation warrants a big black eye.

This months award winner is:

Tourism Queensland who along with the Queensland Shark Control Program are keeping the fine white powdery beaches of the Gold Coast free of annoying Great White Sharks by killing them with professional grade shark killing drum lines.

The Queensland Shark Control Program has been in operation since 1962. If you would like to register your displeasure (we have) at the recent deaths of two white sharks killed by this outdated system here's who you email and call:

Queensland Shark Control Center

Email: callweb@dpi.qld.gov.au
Fax: +61 7 3404 6900

Tourism Queensland

30 Makerston Street
Tourism Queensland House
Brisbane
Queensland
4000
GPO Box 328
Brisbane
4001
Tel + 61 7 3535 3535
Fax + 61 7 3535 5438
Email

Editors Note: Please make that call or send that email today. It's 5 minutes of your time, and for the sharks could mean everything. In today's oceans there's no place for publically funded shark killing systems anymore.

Mea Culpa-Unknown Parasites?-Bah!

Earlier this month we picked up a story about "unknown parasites" covering a dead Salmon Shark (Lamna ditropis) that washed up along the north west coast.

While these standings have increased over the past few years-we decided to follow up on the story today. Here's what we found out this morning and it's another case of media oversell...mea culpa we posted it as well:

Hi Folks,

We're following up on a story from last month about a young Salmon Shark that washed up on the beach covered in "unknown parasites". Did the autopsy reveal of what this animal was covered in?

Thanks for the follow up.

--
Cheers,
The Shark Crew
www.sharkdiver.com
www.sharkdivers.com
www.sharkdivers.blogspot.com
www.guadalupefund.org
www.islandofthegreatwhiteshark.com
415.235.9410

Hello Shark Divers,

Yes the parasites were identified and are quite common. The story itself got blown out of proportion, as most news stories do. The "unknown parasites" were not unknown they were just parasites we had just not seen before as we do not deal with sharks that often.

Have a great day!

Tiffany

Sharks Australia-'Hypocritical' over great whites

Image:Luke Sorensen

As we reported yesterday a 2.3 meter great white washed up on Mermaid Beach, Australia attached to some serious shark killing gear. What we had hoped was a "rouge fishing event" turned out to be a longstanding government planned policy to eradicate predatory sharks along the coastline. That effort killed two animals at this site this week (click for images):

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) has accused the Queensland Government of being hypocritical for protecting great white sharks and also setting drum lines for them.

Two juvenile great whites - both more than two metres long - were killed on baited drum lines off Gold Coast beaches last week. The AMCS's Craig Bohm says great whites are endangered, but 12 have been killed on the coast in five years.

Editors Note: As a commercial shark diving company we're outraged at this senseless slaughter off the coasts of Queensland, Australia. In the coming days we will supply you with the email and phone numbers of the agencies involved with the shark eradication drumlines in the region. Don't bother sending in another shark petition, they are not effective. Direct and personal emails and phone calls are effective, and we'll be on this one for a while now. Policies from the 1970's in regards to shark eradication have no place in today's oceans.