Shark attack suspected at Wylie Bay, Esperance
Submitted by hezzy on Fri, 2020-10-09 14:33
Shark attack suspected at Wylie Bay, Esperance, on WA's south coast where surfer is missing
hope to hell this ends well and they find the bloke ok soon , as it is not looking good at present ,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-09/shark-attack-in-esperance-wa-reported/12748378
there is also a whale carcass washing ashore south of bunbury at peppy beach with some big nasties eating off it over the last 24 hours
so advice is to stay clear of that area if diving or kayaking etc
hezzy
____________________________________________________________________________
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Pescatore70
Posts: 183
Date Joined: 03/12/19
Now thats a far better way
Now thats a far better way to debate an issue Boony....
Lets leave the name calling and digs to kiddies eh.
Mate, I dont know what the reason is for the spike in sighting and attacks but if we're talking stats you cant look at shark numbers and exclude the massive growth n human population. When I was a kid there were nowhere near as many people in boats or in the water. So we need to look at it holistically.
We also have a spike here but in other areas of teh world the White is rarely if ever seen in areas it used to be seen regularly. I know my mates on the Northern NSW coast said there were still attacks but no more or less than what it was like growing up.
The depletion of fish stocks is fact. Not even going to debate this. Plenty on the net to support that. Christ have a look at the local restrictions and the reasoning behind those.
Do I see it as a problem you ask - no mate, I dont. And moreso if you research the attacks you will find that the great majority of those taken and their families were of the belief that culling was not the answer (See the quote I put above from that divers partner)
You see pal, I see the massive rise in social drug consumption, DUI, random violence, and all that shit that kills HUNDREDS per year as a problem....
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Yeah mate .
Yeah Dave ! The worst part was I had too swim
away from the boat first too grab my mate .
he's yelling and carrying on I've shot a
Mulloway for me too reply it's not a mulloway
its a Farking dusky ! Anyway we need too
get back too the boat now ! So with my
novice spearo friend and he's flapping
morwong we made the swim back too
the boat ..fairly sure I didn't blink my
eyes til we were inside the boat..,..
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Actually more too it .
The story I get back too the ramp and
see my mate launching. He's heading out
for a squid . I didn't say anything. Then
he rings and said where were you diving?
i replied the first reef he says I'll send you
a pic of what was floating just on the inside
reef . It's was a massive bull seal cleanly
bitten in half .. that was a Sunday. I think?
very next day that poor fella got taken at
mullaloo and they only retrieved a piece
of his bathers .. no body .. cheers pirate
davewillo
Posts: 2401
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Geez Pirate that's intense!
Geez Pirate that's intense! That seal may have saved your arses that day!
PGFC member and lure tragic
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Cotttoslose
Bryn Martin..
davewillo
Posts: 2401
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Yeah I a bit confused by the
Yeah I a bit confused by the Mullaloo reference Pirate. The one off Mullaloo (Mindarie actually) was a lady named Doreen Collyer.
PGFC member and lure tragic
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Bryn Martin
2011 cott beach .. geez was a
while back ..
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Was down at .
Was down at the marina that
morning when she got taken.
having a coffee with mrs standing
on the rocks seen the boats all
grouped up then chopper then
ambos and cops at the ramp .
terrible !! it bit her unfortunately
with the bigger whites a bite is
a death sentence..
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Very sad mate, but as a
Very sad mate, but as a couple have said on here let's leave them to do their thing where ever and when ever and let's not mitigate any risk lest thy holy shark be harmed.
Love the West!
Pescatore70
Posts: 183
Date Joined: 03/12/19
Thats the spirit lol : )
Thats the spirit lol : )
faz
Posts: 27
Date Joined: 25/07/09
Old Pesky eh not admin of
Old Pesky eh not admin of Sharkbay news and views are you lol.
timboon
Posts: 2957
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Basically I might have a
Basically I might have a selfish outlook on this topic...
I'll educate my kids on the dangers of DUI, Drugs and all those social aspects of growing up making the right decisions.
I'd also like to think with reasonable confidence ( which i lack paddling back out at south point or sitting out the back at cobblestones ) that my kids can enjoy the ocean without fear...
Respect for it sure but not with the fear that the kids right now around ballina and no doubt in recent times Esperance have...
Back twenty years ago when there was the odd attack you had to be mindful but now it has become a when not if game in some parts of our coast and GETTING WORSE...
I'm not interested in it getting worse, If there was a non lethal way to save the sharks that would be taken out then i'm all for that but there aint so start killing the fuckers until such time when we have a system in place where we can co-exist....
Dog it dies
Croc it dies
White Shark - Let it be free and we have people wanking on about the topic yet there are up to 250,000,000 other sharks a year dying because of humans - so fucking weird
Pescatore70
Posts: 183
Date Joined: 03/12/19
The problem Boony is that
The problem Boony is that youre right there isnt really a non-lethal way of controlling these Whites so where do we stand ?
Do we kill the Whites in that part of the world? Were they the shark that killed the bloke... doubtful.
Do we determine a kill quota and go down that route. So what happens if that quota is reached and attacks/deaths happen thereafter. We increase the quota ?
See much like you, im a dad too.. so therefore i will educate my kids that their choices in life will carry varying levels of risk.
Go swimming at mullaloo with their friends amongst 100/1000s of other - low risk
Go spearfishing or surfing around Esperance AT THIS POINT IN TIME - HIigh Risk.
Do you want every stretch of the coast made totally safe ?
Like i said, theres are places around the world that these amazing animals used to be seen but are no longer there.
They are a problem in Esperance - at the moment- but worldwide the remain classified as vulnerable.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8144
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Become a game of 'when' not
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Funny that .
Funny you talk about grace town boon !!
Late 90s me and about 6 others witnessed
a rather large fin cruise through at north
point !! But the bay was nearly closing out
was more worried bout drowning ... think
i got two waves ! But watching Dave McCauley
if that's how you spell his name ?? And his
crew take off on the peak and cruise thru
section after section !! Never forget that !
cheers pirate..
timboon
Posts: 2957
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Pirate - Norths has its own
Pirate - Norths has its own risks!!
Yes Pesc thats exactly what we do, we stop the tagging and start the .308'ing...
If we all of a sudden kill a few hundred or a thousand and the number of attacks all of a sudden decrease then If you ask me thats a big win for ocean goers...
That gets monitored moving forward.
If we have "the odd random attack" well thats normal and no need for alarm, like it used to be...
In the mean time the shark huggers ( and i'm a lover of all things in the ocean but I'm a realist too ) might come up with a non lethal method of co-existance...
Pescatore70
Posts: 183
Date Joined: 03/12/19
Just keep killing eh....
Just keep killing eh.... interesting.
You do know these are very very slow reproducers right. Go past the tipping point and its very difficult to get normal numbers back.
Like i said look at it in a macro rather than micro view. The species is vulnerable. Thats accepted globally.
Indescriminately killing a shitload may be a win for ocean goers (well for that tiny part of the world) but very much a loss for the ocean itself.
I respectly ask that if you get some time to research the species on the net. facinating animals. At the very least you may begin to understand the fine balance between species.
Enjoy the night and of course stay safe.
Over and out.
Curndog
Posts: 449
Date Joined: 21/11/16
Boon if I could be fucked
Boon if I could be fucked writing essays on this topic rather than smart arse digs then I would be writing exactly what you are. Couldn't agree more. Hate these shark hugging tossers. The way the world is going probably won't even be allowed to catch a fish in 20 years time
little johnny
Posts: 5359
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Imagine starting from tomorrow
No dermersal fishing . Then no footy soon follows. It will be unreal . All I know about the horrible things is I’ve spent over 40 years on water .30 years of them I thought whites where a mythical shark( like a unicorn) now there like blowies .actually they have disappeared lately . Nothing wrong with thinning them down . As someone said prior in discussion quota system . One big thing I have noticed since snapper ban has been in whites have been regular every year getting more and more . People say fish stocks low . Drop anywhere in 30s outwards pinks everywhere. Drive through sound both sides on full moon huge swirling schools of pinks breeding .. pinks have made massive comeback . Hence all the whites getting tagged in sound . They know where food is . To many of them for my likes . But won’t and doesn’t stop me from diving ect. I think surfers are most at risk ( passionate bunch ) and balls of steel when you read story’s of them trying to help someone who has been bitten or taken by shark. Scary stuff . Stick to my beliefs any shark cruising swim beaches Popular surf spots .kill order ( whites) . Before it takes someone’s family member . I hate it when people say they passed doing what they loved ( getting eaten by a shark) really . Could think of many many other better ways To pass .
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Agree Johnny, more food more
Agree Johnny, more food more sharks. Whale numbers up, we know the whites trail them to get at the calves. Pinky numbers on the rise, actually sick of catching them up our way, heaps and heaps always just undersize.
Love the West!
timboon
Posts: 2957
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Pesc I know you'll still be
Pesc I know you'll still be lurking so you'll read this...
I dont need to research anything living in the southern half of the lucky country - Australia...
Growing up in SA and going over to Cactus from a very young age for sometimes months at a time with my parents are some of my earliest memories...
The plaque at Pt Sinclair of the 11 year old boy that swam out to his dads boat when he pulled up on the mooring and got chewed by a white is probably my earliest Shark fatality memory...
Since then I've been between WA and SA, arguably two of the worlds hot spots for Whites...
I've worked comercially on cray, trawl, dropline and King crabbing boats.
Like someone that grows up in Darwin and fishes the river systems where the big Saltys lurk, they observe and hear the stories from others...
I'm not overly interested in reading something written by a "scientist" with a point of view...
Its fucking obvious what is going on...
Numbers are increasing it is as simple as that, you protect something for 20+ years then thats obviously going to happen, the flow on affect is.....
A 1000% increase in deaths in the past 10 years compared to the previous 120 that you stated early!!
I'm not prepared to give the Shark the benefit of the doubt and give him another 10 years I'd prefer to start saving human lives sooner...
If you are into your research do some research on Reunion Island and tell me if you want the southern WA beaches to become anything like that!!
Here's just a snippet - https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/world/africa/reunion-once-a-surfers-paradise-finds-only-sharks-in-its-waters.html#:~:text=The%20government%20responded%20in%202013,stay%20out%20of%20the%20water.&text=When%20a%20surfer%20named%20Elio,April%2C%20his%20death%20struck%20hard.
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
shit this grew didnt it
shit this grew didnt it
well i dont have any skin in the game much anymore as i only shallow dive for abs nowdays and never did more than body surfing as a teenager in the 70s . and decided early on as a dad in the late 80 s not to encourage my boys to surf or ride motorbikes too much ...both top fun , but came with slightly higher risk imo
anyway ......
GW ,became protected ..mid 90s from memory ,, but the reason or science behind that decision lacked significant science back then from whay i have read and is still somewhat controversial ,,,being migratory most of their adult life ,not much had been logged to them or was known about them compared to other species even today there still learning about where they mate and breed etc ,,,rec game fishing records showed a marked decline in catches of them from the 60s onwards ?? was this correct or did the game clubs , just follow shifting public opinion and move to marlin and other species ? big GW hanging on gantries went out of fashion if you read up on it ,, and targeting them slowed so they catch rate slowed ...
GW breed live young that will even before birth eat each other ?? SO RIGHT OF THE BAT THEY KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE AND THERE NOT FUSSY ..THERE THE LEGENDS OF SURVIVAL IMO .they have to be to have hung around this long , outlasting pretty much all otehrs . they do eat fish ,, up to the age of maturing around the 2.7-3 metre size ,,then they shift to mostly maMmals or pinipeds ?? as they provide much more energy for these bigger balistic missiles cruisers to fuel there migrations around the globes oceans in regular methodical routes ...
there has been a big increase in whales and seals on the wa coast over the last few decades ..anyone who does not believe that is not using their critical thinking and observation skills ..its a fact ,,, and that is what these big cruisers eat and come here for imo ,,,,they like to hunt from deeper water .lots of these attacks at repeated places on our coast fit their world wide attack profiles ,,deep water zones of more than 20metres that are close to shore ,,south point , bunkers , rotto etc ...and most of them are within a few ks of seal colonies, etc ,, these big bugggers spend a very large portion of theri time within the 50 metres deep or less zone of our coastline ,,, once they are here they hunt in that zone a lot ,,,,, it will happen that the gov of the day at some point will cull them ,, how many or who will get to do it i dont know ,,but i do believe it is only amatter of time before a lowering of their number in the above 3.5 metre size happens .. purely driven by the economic reality that continued increasing attacks will make it happen ,,communities like to feel safe even if thats not a reality ,,its an emiotional thing that gov will have to respond to as opinion changes and people feel threatened every time they or their family enter the water .. tourism is our lifeblood , its built on using our beaches and oceans ,shark attacks threaten that ,,even in small but ever increasing numbers ,, how many to cull ??difficult to say ,,as they cant even tell you accuralty how many GW are out there now ,,
there curently planning to build a 5 star resort hotel at margs on the coast at gnarabup ,, how will it go if visitors are too shit scared to surf at the world renowned surf spot ??
drink more wine ??
attacks will continue ,, i have no doubt about it and they will increase ,,
sadly people will lose loved ones ,
that has long term affects on families ,, culling a select number of great whites wont totally remove that but it will go some way lessen the impacts
hezzy
.
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
timboon
Posts: 2957
Date Joined: 14/11/10
That was very diplomatic of
That was very diplomatic of you Hezzy haha....
The thing that really amazes me is peoples attitude towards saving the white pointer as in every single one of them.... Like i absolutely want a healthy surviving population of them forever, I dont wish any species to be totally decimated but like the guys on here that carry on about not culling any of them probably catch and eat Gummys, Schoolies etc etc.
Is it the fact we dont eat them? Well fuck me, send the fillets to China, they'll whip something up...
Crew see a gummy swimming next to a white they be like wow look at that beautiful big fucker, here quick pass me the rod so i can kill the gummy... weirdos..
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
yeh i agree with you boony
yeh i agree with you boony
makes no sense to happily eat a small shark but not cull a bigger one if they decide to do so .... again its just emotional feel good stuff
big or old really does it matter how it dies as it will die at some point ??
i like you want to see a population of them on the planet ..but a cull will happen ,,,its only a matter of time ,,, the drum line rubbish is a farce and waaste of money ..put a bounty on say 20 GW AYEAR AND SELL TAGS TO BIG TIME OVERSEAS HUNTERS TO REMOVE THEM ... THAT WOULD WORK ,,AND DAM WELL STOP CAGE DIVING ..
sharks learn quickly ,,,where easy meals come from
see how many follow cray boats to get an easy old bait feed ?
how mnay sharks and otehrs follow trawlers at night or day when trawling ..the second the gear is turned on to haul the trawl and pocket in they know and react ,,here come sdinner as the bycatch is sorted and dumped
look at how they now follow rec and pro charters around when demersal fishing ? to target fish restricted in movement when caught on a recs line ,,there an easier meal
sambos fishing ? same same
snapper fishing ..same same
they learn and we have to stop teaching them cage diving should be stopped world wide imo
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
As Boony said very
As Boony said very diplomatic Hezzy, but you always do have a measured comment. And yeah like I said previously a quota each year, and as we know the Jaws are worth a fortune, the japs would love the fins and I'm sure there are plenty of other products that can be gleened from the carcass. And as you pointed out we fish for Gummies, small bronzies etc why not a few of the larger one's. And as I also said fishing only an inshore zone (leave the deeper water predators alone) but a common sense approach inshore off course.
Love the West!
davewillo
Posts: 2401
Date Joined: 08/09/16
On a positive note they seem
On a positive note they seem to be tagging quite a few ATM. I know there are still plenty out there without tags but at least it gives ocean users a reference point. If I want to go surfing and see that there have been lots of recent pings in the area, then I know they're around and can make an informed decision. Sure no pings doesn't mean no whites but it helps indicate behaviour patterns. We all know the time of year they roughly turn up but when they leave is less clear (IMO).
FWIW I'm on board the selected culling team or we're on a slippery slope in terms of ocean use ala Reunion Island.
PGFC member and lure tragic
woody
Posts: 617
Date Joined: 27/02/08
Righto guys, heres a few
Righto guys, heres a few thoughts for you from a frustrated Esperance local.
I knew of Sharpey RIP, I grew up with his wife.... beautiful people. A shitload of my family and friends all surf and I'm mates with a few of the lads who were out there that day and saw it all happen. From all accounts it was horrific to say the least and definetely not a typical " mistaken for seal" test bite. I wont go into the details but suffice to say they will never find a body. The surfers down here are a closeknit bunch and with most of the guys having grown up together and surfed forever. Yes they accept the risks but this fatality has really hit the town hard.
Most people I know dont want a cull they just want answers? Why is this the 3rd fatality in 2 years? Why is this surf spot a hot spot for GWS? 30 years ago we never had shark attacks, hardly ever saw them, whats changed? Guys were still surfing the same spot then too.
All the social media "experts" keep banging on about scientific reports that claim GW numbers havent increased since they were protected. But every pro fisherman, rec fisho and abalone diver you talk to says they have been so abundant, buggers are everywhere. There are literally so many interactions between rec boats and GWs every year of late.
The experts claim we must be taking all their food but honestly you know what big GWs eat....there are dolphins, seals etc everywhere down here. Islands are full of them. Also our pro fishing industry is tiny compared to places like Point Lincoln.
Where's this imbalance coming from?
The thing that doesnt sit too well with me is guranteed there will be another attack/fatality within the next 12 months and if its at Woody Island or in the bay itself shit will really hit the fan because it appears as if nothing was done to help prevent it. This summer is going to be off the charts with thousands of tourists expected to come down.
We have the best beaches in Oz (I'm biased) but I'm really reluctant to let my kids have a swim in places I used to swim every day when I was their age. We are getting a group together to lobby the council to build a sea pool or shark proof enclosure in the bay just so we can have somewhere safe to swim for our kids in summer. Every town in SA has them and they are awesome.
Sorry for my rant but its been a sad and frustrating time down here this week.
As always, if you are heading down to Esperance this summer and need some tips fling me a PM.
Cheers
Woody
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Have to second you on the
Have to second you on the beaches, was down there a few weeks back and the beaches at Cape Le Grand are in my opinion second to none. Just bloody freezing water lol.
Good to hear your perspective and input Woody.
Love the West!
davewillo
Posts: 2401
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Good post from the heart of
Good post from the heart of a local Woody. Local perspective is just huge!
hope you're doing okay there
PGFC member and lure tragic
timboon
Posts: 2957
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Good on you Woody... NSW,
Good on you Woody...
NSW, Vic, SA, WA and even Qld ocean goers are all saying the same thing, numbers are on the increase...
Coincides with the fatality rate...
Unfortunately Woody in my opinion there is only one soloution...
Dave while the tagging program no doubt provides additional information it really does FA at the moment to help prevent attacks...
They've spent huge $$ on satelite recievers and alarm systems but now down here in the Margs region people just ignore the alarm, they used to go off that frequently it must've been a fault so that didn't help but also the fact they've tagged Tigers and Bronzies surfers don't leave the water now when the alarm goes off...
Woody its a pretty sad state of affairs when a town of such beauty like Esperance now requires a small cage type structure to keep youngsters safe in the water...
For anyone thats seen these in SA they aint pretty and they aren't very big...
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
has anyone been watching
has anyone been watching shark week on fox ?/ saw a program on great whites of esperance last night that was pretty enlightneing on them ,, they have been filming a pair of male gw that have same marking s and are thought to be siblings , there calling them ''the brothers ''
the two brothers have been filmed togehter now for over 14 months ,,given great whites are supposed to solitary travelers etc ,,its a great doc on how many of them are that area off the coast near the seal islands breeding colonies
well worth watching if you get a chance
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
salisbury island is the place
salisbury island is the place way out on the edge east of esperance ,, thats the island group thats been in the film docos, with all these great whites ,,
there on demand on fox ,,,
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
anypuddle
Posts: 597
Date Joined: 22/01/12
I had my scuba lessons all
I had my scuba lessons all booked when that lady got taken off Mindarie. I suddenly had a change of mind about diving off Perth.
Just my opinion but if the powers that be bought in a "shark tag" and sold few every year to the highest bidder as a trophy hunt and killed a few around the areas where people are taken . I think it would be a start. Certainly don't want to kill them off! Just get a few of the wise ones hanging around. Would bring in big bucks for the state if done right.
But hey what do I know , never seen one yet and hope it stays that way!
Anywhere anytime
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
bit of video on the salisbury
bit of video on the salisbury island GWs of esperance
https://mission-blue.org/2019/07/new-hope-spot-declared-off-western-australias-southern-coast-highlights-haven-for-white-sharks/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMHVUNgZFsA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oLuOaIS0H4
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Shark shield
Does the government still pay a subsidy for people who purchase shark shields, if you have reservations about diving then getting and using a shark shield may be a wise thing to do. I don't dive so I haven't got one. So I can't comment on their effectiveness
From what I have read they do provide some level of protection for the user.
Shark1
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 21/05/12
yea and condoms provide some
yea and condoms provide some level of family planning meglodon
jury is out on sharkshields
ive seen em circle once then come closer , veer away from the shield then come closer and closer with sucesscive pasts
they not dumb and will push the boundary of the shield - until they realise- they dont hurt
some pro ab divers wont use em as they think they will draw em in
ab divers been taken with a shield on
dolphin adventures in rocko - the guide had a shield on and was bitten - not the punters without a shield
Marineboy
Posts: 842
Date Joined: 14/03/14
Shark shield
rocko dolphin divers shark shield was not turned on, That was well publicised at the time.
My spots are so secret even the fish don't know about them !
flangies
Posts: 2542
Date Joined: 11/05/08
Have seen people use shark
Have seen people use shark shields to deter whalers up north. When they hook up the fish they lower the shield down and the sharks stay 5+ meters away from the fish while you're gaffing it. As soon as you lift the shield out of the water they race to the rocks looking for the fish. I don't know what it means to big whites that make split second decisions but it definitely works on smaller species