THE minister for fisheries the Honourable Ken Baston MLC should be expecting letters from a Busselton school soon as they voiced their concern for the contentious shark mitigation scheme on paper.
Geographe Bay Primary school wrote letters to the minister with their thoughts on the scheme.
All but one letter written by the students were against the scheme.
LETTER 1:
Mst. Alex Casey
Geographe Primary School
Clydebank Ave
BUSSELTON WA 6280
10th June 2014
4th Floor, London House
216St George’s Terrace
PERTH WA 6000
Honourable Ken Baston MLC
Minister for Agriculture and Food; Fisheries
Dear Minister,
I am writing to you about the culling of sharks. Please stop baited drum lines being set to catch and kill large sharks. The great white population is decreasing without drum lines being set. Only ten people die a year, so are they really such a threat? Sharks are worth more to us alive rather then dead.
Firstly, your own research shows that the great white population is decreasing. So why would you still go ahead and set the drum lines? We are invading their territory and we need them to sustain a healthy ocean ecosystem.
Secondly, seven hundred and twenty five thousand people die a year from mosquitoes and only ten from sharks. Surely the government should do more about mosquitoes, not sharks. Don’t you agree? Bill Gates supports this argument.
Thirdly, sharks are worth more alive then dead. Killing them impacts severely on our ocean ecosystems. There has only been six shark attacks in two years. Do we really need to set the drum lines?
Stop baiting drum lines, catching and killing our sharks, the ocean is their territory. We know the risks and should have to swim at our own peril, by entering their territory. It’s not hard to see how much we need our top predator to keep the balance to the food chain.
Yours faithfully, Ms. Alex Casey
Geographe Primary School Student
LETTER 2:
Miss Gabrielle Thompson
Geographe Primary School
Clydebank Avenue
BUSSELTON WA 6280
29th May 2014
4th Floor, London House
216 St. George’s Terrace
PERTH WA 6000
Honourable Ken Baston MLC
Minister for Agriculture and Food; Fisheries
Dear Minister,
I am writing to you on the subject of the debate about the setting of baited drum lines. I strongly believe you should allow it to continue, as we do the same thing to other dangerous animals, can gain more information on the different shark species, and will also make it safer for beach-going families. Some people believe that the drum lines will damage the environment too much to be worthwhile. Do the setbacks really outweigh the advantages?
To begin with, look around the world. Think of cobras, crocodiles, tigers and wolves. What do these animals have in common? They are all killed when they endanger humans. This was in The Australian, so wouldn’t it be accurate? Protestors argue that we are invading the sharks’ territory. We are also invading the crocodiles’ territory, so we should be able to treat sharks the same way, out of fairness.
Secondly, there is an advantage to the shark cull. Instead of dumping the sharks’ bodies, we can use them for research, to learn more about them, and to figure out a different solution for the protection of our beaches. This new (and yet to be discovered) solution will allow the sharks to live, without being able to threaten us.
Another reason is that we need to protect our families. Imagine if you lost a family member to a shark attack. The pain of the loss would be overwhelming, surely. Do you want someone else to have to experience that sadness because of an oversized fish?
In summary, I passionately believe that you should allow the setting of the bait lines to continue. Again, my reasons are; we treat other dangerous animals the same, the sharks’ bodies can be used for research, and it would be a lot safer for beach-goers. It is a difficult decision, but it is the right one. Don’t the facts speak for themselves?
Yours Sincerely,
Miss Gabrielle Thompson
Student of Geographe Primary School
