Killing Sharks: cultures and politics of encounter and the sea

Abstract

Australia Day 2014 began badly for sharks. The day before - 25 January - lines of large baited hooks were rolled out, 1 km from the shore along some of Western Australia's most popular beaches. Within 24 hours the first shark was caught. Hauled alongside a boat, the animal was shot four times in the head with a rifle and its body dumped further offshore. It was a 3m tiger shark ('Galeocerdo cuvier'). This act was part of a strategy established by the Western Australia (WA) government under Premier Colin Barnett. Catching and killing sharks is one component of a 'Shark Hazard Mitigation Strategy' first adopted in 2013, in response to five shark-related fatalities in WA waters in the space of 10 months. Following a further fatality in November 2013, the Barnett government announced it would begin a catch and kill program. A zone has been mapped, extending 1 km from shore along a number of popular beaches in Perth and in the state's southwest. At its edge, lines of large baited hooks, known as drum lines, are set. Within the zone - dubbed by journalists and others the 'kill zone' - sharks deemed to pose an 'imminent threat' to beachgoers are hunted and killed (ABC News 2013). Sharks caught on the drum lines or within the zone are measured: those less than 3 m are released; those 3 m or over are killed. In the first days of the program several undersize sharks were caught, some released, others found dead on the line. The contract for catching and killing sharks in WA is worth $5700 per day (Orr 2014). The aim of this program is to reduce the risk of human injury or fatality through shark bite. But the program has seen strong public disapproval and vehement opposition from marine and ecological scientists internationally. The social sciences, arts and humanities have been less visible in the debate (with some important exceptions; see Neff 2012 and Neff & Yang 2013 on the politics of 'shark attack'). In this commentary we argue that geographers have much to offer high-profile public debates such as this one, and the broader social, cultural and political context of decision making and practice around pressing environmental issues. In particular, geographies of nature examining cultures and politics of human-non-human interactions can shed light on attitudes, practice and politics.