Dunsborough businessman calls for cull

A petition is being prepared by a Dunsborough businessman calling for commercial fishermen to be allowed to kill big white pointer sharks, found within 300 metres of a recognised swimming or surfing beach.

The petition, by Peko Peko owner Troy Bottegal, said the economy of the Dunsborough and Busselton area was now showing obvious signs of the negative effects from the recent spate of shark sightings in the region.

“The stigma surrounding this issue is now starting to affect the tourist numbers in town,” he said in the petition.

Mr Bottegal told the Times accommodation providers were reporting to him a 50 per cent drop in bookings during the school holiday period, a local dive school had few bookings and his sushi business had recorded a 50 per cent drop in business compared to the same period last year.

“The Fisheries Department’s statement that they are looking into it is not good enough for the population who live and work in the South West coastal area,” he said.

The detailed plan included a requirement to attach the deceased animal to a registered, numbered location buoy, immediately report the incident via marine radio to the fisheries officer who would photograph the deceased shark, log and check the location, take measurements and dispose of the animal.

The culling was considered a short term plan to be utilised until replaced with permanent set-up of tagging stations in strategic areas to tag and identify large numbers of sharks with detectable transmitters.

Vasse MLA Troy Buswell told the Times this week, he would speak to Fisheries Minister Norman Moore about exploring peak season aerial shark patrols.

“I’ve had a lot of people email me with ideas including nets, culling and tagging,” he said.

“People are rightly concerned about it.”

Mr Buswell said it was incumbent on the government to have a look at the issue and he understood the Fisheries Department was already looking at options.