Source: WAtoday
Final figures released on Wednesday show that 50 tiger sharks were shot dead as part of the West Australian government’s shark kill policy.
A total of 172 sharks and eight other animals were caught on the lines off WA beaches.
In the South West 61 sharks were caught on the lines.
Of those sharks caught 26 were alive/destroyed, 25 were alive/released, eight were dead and two were alive/self released.
No white sharks were caught at the lines; 54 were Tiger sharks, five were Mako sharks, one was a Spinner shark and one were undetermined.
Following the death of seven people within a three year period, the WA government introduced shark kill zones off parts of the WA coast.
Baited drum lines were deployed about one kilometre off Perth metropolitan beaches in January, followed by a similar rollout in parts of the South West, with drum lines being removed at the end of April.
The state government is claiming the kill zones in conjunction with other measures such as aerial patrols had “successfully restored confidence among Western Australian beachgoers”.
Fisheries Minister Ken Baston admitted that "of course we will never know if any of the sharks caught would have harmed a person".
Mr Baston told Radio 6PR that he believed the program had contributed to less beach closures and said he was not worried that no great white sharks were caught even though these were the species of shark nvolved in past fatal attacks in the state.
“Tiger sharks are still a threat,” he said.
Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren rejected the minister's comments.
“I propose that the minister conduct some legitimate research on shark populations off our coast," she said.
The WA government is awaiting approval to deploy the drum lines from November to April across the next three years.
Click here to find the information released by the Fisheries Department.
