The hunt for a shark which attacked a local surfer in Falcon on Tuesday has been criticised by Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren, who says the exercise is an “expensive waste of time and effort” which will do nothing to improve safety in the water, and risked killing an endangered species.
A Department of Fisheries vessel was seen hunting the shark early Wednesday morning.
A spokesperson said shark capture gear had been set at Surf Break Lookout, near Falcon, after the attack.
He said there was still a serious threat to public safety and the beach remained closed.
It is believed, given the nature of the injuries and the location of the incident, it is likely that a white shark, of three metres or more in size, is responsible for the attack.
“The setting of drum lines off Mandurah following yesterday's shark bite will do nothing to improve ocean safety and they should be removed,” Ms MacLaren said.
“There is no way of knowing whether the drum lines will catch the shark responsible for the bite as that shark could be 50 kilometres away by now.
"Even if, by some fluke, the same shark was killed, it achieves nothing for safety in the water because a shark that has bitten someone once does not suddenly become inclined to bite another person - that concept is pure fiction.”
Ms MacLaren said she was “deeply disappointed” with the Fisheries department decision to hunt the shark.
A media conference is scheduled for 11am on Wednesday at the Department of Fisheries office in Fremantle.
The beach where the attack happened remains closed.
