October is the peak month for shark attacks in Hawai‘i. That’s according to figures put together over the past 35 years by the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The overall numbers remain low, despite the publicity those cases tend to generate. In Australia, recent attacks have led to a special conference this week in Sydney. HPR’s Bill Dorman has details in today’s Asia Minute.
It’s been a bad year for shark attacks in Australia. Last year there were 23. So far in 2015 it’s up to 29 - with 18 injuries and 2 fatalities. Cases have spiked especially in eastern Australia—off the coast of New South Wales—which saw three shark attacks all of last year and 13 so far this year.
About 70 experts gathered in Sydney this week for a “shark summit”—to consider ways of reducing the attacks. Ideas include using shark-detecting floats that would send texts to lifeguards when a shark is offshore. Other thoughts include deterring sharks with some sort of electronic signal or sonar technology.
The state government put together a whole series of potential actions—but most of them will require further testing and study before they’re ready for trials. That leaves a shark spotting program as the most likely choice for the short term.
One option not under consideration is “culling”—or killing sharks to reduce the threat to humans…a step surveys find most residents oppose. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation quotes conference speaker Christopher Neff as saying “the public generally gets that there are better alternatives that will make them safer.”
