The recent resurgence of shark attacks in Western Australia has caused the government to take a number of precautions.
There have been five fatal shark attacks in the area this year. Ben Linden, a 24-year-old surfer near Wedge Island, 160 km north of Perth was killed by a great white shark, this past Saturday. The government closed some state beaches following his tragic death.
Linden was paddling on his surfboard when the shark attacked. Tony Cappelluti, Perth's Shark Response Unit Spokesperson said that there had been officers patrolling the beach but no further sightings of the shark have occurred. A witness on a jet-ski tried to help the victim and was also attacked by the shark when he tried to help.
"I reached to grab the body and the shark came at me on the jet-ski and tried to knock me off. I did another loop and when I came back to the body the shark took it," he told The BBC.
$13.65 million have been allotted to reduce shark attacks along Western Australia's coast. The money will go towards increasing shark safety awareness, research and equipment to monitor shark movements.
The resent increase in shark attacks is puzzling and unprecedented. Western Australia Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said to The Daily Mail, "Regrettably, people are being taken by sharks in numbers which we have never seen before. Five fatalities in Western Australia (in 10 months) is unprecedented and cause for great alarm. It won't be helping our tourism industry and those people who want to come here to enjoy an ocean experience will be turned away because of this situation."
Cage diving, which is popular in Southern Australia, has also been banned in the region due to the large number of shark attacks. Research conducted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) found that baiting sharks kept them in the area for longer and there has been debate in Australia about the connection to shark attacks and baiting sharks with food.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
