A Moving Danger Zone !

 In the first half of the twenty-first century a shark attack in Australia was so unusual that it attracted banner headlines across the nation's newspapers.  Folklore even suggested that the shark danger did not exist in Tasmania and the reasons given were the coldness of the water and the huge fish stocks that satisfied the shark's appetite.

We had much smaller population numbers at that time, but the sea was still our playground.  The big difference is that shark attack now is so common that it rates a small mention in the inner pages  of our newspapers. There are few suggestions to explain why this danger has increased.

A pertinent factor could be global warming.  Warmer water temperatures are slowly killing our Great Barrier Reef and driving tropical fish further south. In the past, sharks relied on the availability of seals for much of their diet.  Perhaps this warmer water is coaxing them closer inshore and the balance between seals and humans is no longer clear in the shark's mind.

It is evident that we now face a greater danger of shark attack when we go in the water.  The main danger applies to surfers, sitting on their boards beyond the breaking waves and with legs dangling temptingly below the surface.   There seems to be safety in numbers and there have been no attacks on crowds enjoying the water at popular city beaches, under the protection of watchful lifesavers.

This great Australian continent is facing an increasing danger from two natural predators, the shark and the Crocodile, and both seem to be regulated by water temperature.  The crocodile is  common throughout much of Asia and has always been a denizen of our northern coastline in the Northern Territory and north of Western Australia and Queensland.  They are now moving ever south, both in the surrounding sea and through the inland river system.

At the end of the second world war, the presence of American and Australian troops in our north had driven the crocodile to near extinction.  The government declared it a protected species, and from there the numbers have multiplied.  They are part of farm breeding programmes in which their skin is manufactured into high end merchandise.  They are also a drawcard in attracting tourists to view them in their natural habitat.

The problem is that they are extending their range as the climate gets hotter.,  The dreaded " Saltwater " crocodile is moving ever south down the West Australian and Queensland coasts and taking up residence in the inland river system.  Once they become established they are almost impossible to remove and the impact on residential lifestyle for the human population is dramatic.

We have only to look at Africa to see what could await Australia.  Because the whole country has been divided into different jurisdictions the crocodile has spread freely and most Africans have had to learn to live with its presence. As a consequence, there is a high death toll, specially applicable to children.

The bulk of Australia has traditionally been free of crocodile infestation and it should remain that way. We can not control the movement of sharks in the sea, but crocodile movement can be kept within limits.  What is needed is legal control points from which any crocodile venturing south can be legally shot on sight.