Sea Shepard Monday 14th April, 2014 – This morning off the Perth Metro meat curtains (aka Barnett’s drum lines), Sea Shepherd’s Bruce the RIB, witnessed the following: 08:00 am AWST – Drum line approximately 1km off Scarborough Beach – 2.7 metre (8.9 ft.) Tiger shark caught, injured and released Bruce the RIB noticed that due to the drum lines being drawn together and tangled that something had tragically been hooked over night and was waiting a visit from the WA Fisheries Department. The Fisheries officers inspected the caught and injured tiger shark before he/she was pulled aboard the Fisheries boat, then was released bloodied and injured back into the water approximately 1 kilometre off Scarborough beach. Captain Mike Dicks on board Bruce the RIB stated, “One can not imagine what these sharks go through to be hooked over night, to not be able to swim and get oxygen to their vital organs, slowly slipping into a state of tonic immobility. Everything about this shark cull defies logic and sense on every level, most importantly the fact that it makes public safety worse with sharks being drawn closer to our beaches stimulated by bait.” 10:15 am AWST – Drum line approximately 1km off Mullaloo Beach – 3 metre (9.8 ft)plus Tiger shark caught, injured and thrashing about before Fisheries shoot 3 times to the death A second tiger shark was hooked by Barnett’s meat curtains this morning, a large 3 metre plus tiger shark had been hooked over night off Mullaloo beach. She was in a very distressed state and was thrashing around with a hook through her head, before being dragged along side the P.V. Houtman, the WA Fisheries boat with the hypocritical slogan “Fish for the future” on the side of the boat. She was then shot, not once, not twice, but three times before being hauled aboard and dumped out to sea. No tagging, no research, nothing learnt, a complete waste.
Sea Shepherd crew member Tim Watters stated, “I have now seen first hand the barbaric, senseless, cruel and tragedy of the WA shark cull. I have seen today a beautiful female 3 metre plus tiger shark in such a stressed state, thrashing around for her life, before being pulled alongside and shot three times. Given the time of year, she was most likely was pregnant. I have just returned from defending the whales in the Antarctic Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and can not believe what I am seeing right off our WA coast, it rivals that of any cruelty and insanity of the Japanese whale poachers” • The Japanese whale poachers are targeting protected species, just as the WA Fisheries Department do. • The Japanese whale poachers try and run Sea Shepherd out of fuel just as the WA Fisheries Department do. • The Japanese whale poachers try to hide from the world their cruel and barbaric slaughter of marine life, just like the WA Fisheries Department do. • The Japanese whale poachers have no respect for human or marine life, just as the WA Fisheries department don’t by attracting sharks closer to shore and stimulating them with bait, right off popular Perth swimming beaches. The WA Fisheries Department have the following statement on their website, “The presence of many species of shark as ‘apex predators’ – occupying the top level of the food chain – is an indication of a healthy marine environment.”. With just over two weeks to go until the drum lines comes out from this insane three month trial, the WA Fisheries Department continue their assault on WA’s healthy marine environment. Sea Shepherd will not rest until the Australian Government use the worlds best practices that help minimise the threat of shark incidents, instead of worlds worst practices that not only kill our precious marine life that we all rely on, but also make our beaches less safe.
All photos: Tim Watters / Sea Shepherd
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