Sharks - and the Economy !

The recent spate of shark attacks on the New South Wales north coast has caused people to avoid the water and this is having a detrimental effect on the multi-million dollar tourist industry.   A survey of eighty nine businesses serving that industry reveals that over fifty percent have seen a savage downturn in customer numbers - and consequently business turnover.

Hotels and resorts have seen a drop in booking numbers as customers choose a different mode of holiday and in particular, dive schools and surfing training clubs have seen numbers drop precipitately - the fear of sharks is the stated reason for cancellations.

This business community is hanging on by it's teeth with the start of summer just weeks away.  The promise of shark nets and other forms of water safeguards is critical to restoring confidence, but any form of surfer protection is being vigorously opposed by Global Warming alarmists and the Greens. Some scoff and attribute this drop in business to poorly trained business owners who fail to give good service and charge extortionate prices.

The Greens seem to think that the ecology should take precedence over the economy.  Great White sharks are at the apex of the food chain and anything that decreases their numbers is likely to hasten global warming.   According to that argument, sharks maintain the balance of other sea creatures and if their numbers drop we will see a vast increase in bottom dwellers - Stingrays, Turtles and Crabs - which eat the marine vegetation which sequesters huge amounts of carbon dioxide.   The odd surfer getting eaten by a shark is the price we have to pay for a cooler planet !

Marine scientists have not been able to explain why our north coast has been the venue for recent shark attacks, while a similar occurrence has not been happening in other areas.  It could be that the great schools of bait fish have chosen to swim closer to the coast, attracting the sharks to follow or it could be an expansion of Great White numbers making it necessary for these solitary predators to establish new territorial waters.

Plans are in play to try a variety of measures to try and deliver beach protection.  One of them will be shark nets off some beaches, but there will also be trials of bubble curtains and electrical inhibitors to persuade sharks to turn away from populated areas.  At the same time, visual sighting methods will be employed to give surfers early warning - and we may see the return of the old time " shark bell " to clear the water when a shark approaches.    Regular fixed wing aircraft and helicopters will surely convince many people that it is safe to return to the water.

The important thing is to get these protective devices in the water - fast.   Too much time is elapsing in argument over the various methods to be employed and time is being wasted hearing specious arguments from those opposed to any new measures.   These shark attacks may be a natural phenomenon associated with some unknown factor that applies to the north coast, or it may be a change of shark activity that will broaden over a period of time, but what we need for this coming summer is a trial of combative measures - in place quickly - to restore confidence and repair the damage that is being done to the economy.

What potential swimmers and surfers are waiting to hear - is that safety measures are now in place and being tested to repel sharks.   The sheer survival of many north coast businesses also depends on that happening !