It's always been sharky down there, and there would still be sharks around today that used to drop in there for a good feed when the whaling station was operating.
I think the whaling station was closed in about 1978,. or thereabouts, and some sharks live longer than that.
Actually,.. anywhere around Albany is sharky and I always feel nervous swimming or surfing there.
All things considered, there are surprisingly few attacks.
That muppet from the anti cull lobby is already on the 6pm news carrying on about the government wasting money on drum lines. A little respect for the young fella that lost his life (from both sides of the argument) please. RIP.
Sincere condolences to the family and friends.
But something to consider, given that lot of us are stakeholders. When I read about the incident about 1&1/2 hours after 12.30 I jumped on the WA Govt Sharksmart website to check for updates at the Albany locality on the map, and... nothing.
So its the middle of the holiday season and there was it seems at least a 2 hour delay before the shark activity website was updated.
What if, the shark which now has a spearfishing spear aggravating it then went on to a nearby beach and attacked another person, who might have relied on tha accuracy of the website's reporting?
Just not good enough.
I know the young lad reasonably well. His friends and family are no doubt devastated. Some of the more experienced spearfishing guys I know have had run ins with whites out there over the last 5 years, yet they never attacked. Very sad and tragic loss.
Select to expand quotewazza local said..
Sincere condolences to the family and friends.
But something to consider, given that lot of us are stakeholders. When I read about the incident about 1&1/2 hours after 12.30 I jumped on the WA Govt Sharksmart website to check for updates at the Albany locality on the map, and... nothing.
So its the middle of the holiday season and there was it seems at least a 2 hour delay before the shark activity website was updated.
What if, the shark which now has a spearfishing spear aggravating it then went on to a nearby beach and attacked another person, who might have relied on tha accuracy of the website's reporting?
Just not good enough.
Who goes to a fairly remote beach and checks their phone for the latest update before they dive in.....? I suspect no-one. there are enough people that go in the water even when they know there are sharks around to prove a website (that has an inherent delay) really won't modify anyone's behaviour in real time.
Im shocked that the WA Shark website lists the fatal attack as "shark sighted", with the attack almost listed as a reluctant byline.
RIP matey!
^^ it's small enough to fit in a tweet as the message goes out on multiple platforms.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Get info out quickly and run the risk of getting it wrong, take a little extra to get the info correct and you get in the **** for not getting it out quickly. I'm often required to get info out to the public in a time critical manner, get it wrong and you get crucified.
Select to expand quoteCrossStep said..
Im shocked that the WA Shark website lists the fatal attack as "shark sighted", with the attack almost listed as a reluctant byline.
RIP matey!
You would think for a half a million dollar website, it would be a bit more reliable..
R.I.P, 17 is way to young
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said..
Who goes to a fairly remote beach and checks their phone for the latest update before they dive in.....? I suspect no-one. there are enough people that go in the water even when they know there are sharks around to prove a website (that has an inherent delay) really won't modify anyone's behaviour in real time.
Not remote beaches, Middleton Beach, Ocean Beach Denmark, and others between. Its the peak holiday season and they are as packed as they get. The State Govt is promoting this website to allay many peoples fears, yet they are being half ar$ed about managing it.
Anyway, even if you disagree with the point I'm trying to make there will be many who get where I'm coming from.
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said..
^^ it's small enough to fit in a tweet as the message goes out on multiple platforms.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Get info out quickly and run the risk of getting it wrong, take a little extra to get the info correct and you get in the **** for not getting it out quickly. I'm often required to get info out to the public in a time critical manner, get it wrong and you get crucified.
That is very true "discretion is the better part of valour". But several hours after the attack and the Gov site still lists it as a sighting first with the fatal attack as an afterthought. Multiple platforms or not, shouldn't any information that this site produces from conformation of the attack be listing it as fatal shark attack first, and not sighting. It all fits on Twitter/ Facebook etc which ever way it goes.
I just feel for the parents, because its always on my mind when I take my children out surfing. Especially since we had a little Carpet Shark come up and say hello to us in the shallows recently. The kids understand that we are in the sharks domain and as my son puts it "Its not their fault, they just get scared or hungry"... still, it made my heart stop for a moment.
Select to expand quotewazza local said..
Chris6791 said..
Who goes to a fairly remote beach and checks their phone for the latest update before they dive in.....? I suspect no-one. there are enough people that go in the water even when they know there are sharks around to prove a website (that has an inherent delay) really won't modify anyone's behaviour in real time.
Not remote beaches, Middleton Beach, Ocean Beach Denmark, and others between. Its the peak holiday season and they are as packed as they get. The State Govt is promoting this website to allay many peoples fears, yet they are being half ar$ed about managing it.
Anyway, even if you disagree with the point I'm trying to make there will be many who get where I'm coming from.
Those beaches are 50-100 km away. The people that needed to know immediately were those in the water close to the attack, not 50km away. Word of mouth and emergency services on the ground will be more effective than a shark sighting report on a website, not counting the fact that the sharknet website clearly says to get the latest info from the SLSWA Twitter feed, not their page.
Wanting to to know immediately is not the same as needing to know and you can't blame a website for not getting the info out in a timely manner if that website says it's not the best place to get that info quickly.
You should also see the bureaucracy behind Sharks in WA, last time I looked at it,
Sharks are a fish resource issue, that's fisheries, fisheries manage the Sharknet website
SLSWA are on the sand every day and are closest to get swimmers out of the water, somehow they end up managing the shark reports via their twitter feed
local government Rangers are the only ones with the power to close a beach and instruct people to leave the water (if they listen)
Great Whites are a federally protected species, that's Canberra.
Water Police are the only ones that have a 24/7 operations centre to assess shark reports after hours but I have no idea if they can access the SLSWA Twitter feed
Police can only get involved on report of a person missing or confirmed fatal attack.
There's probably a MOU in place defining who shared what responsibilities with who but under the statutes everyone is a little bit responsible but no-one really has overall responsibility. It's a wonder they have managed a co-ordinated response, even if it's not quite quick enough to keep everyone satisfied.
I'm not saying that the loss of someones life and the grief suffered as a result is not tragic but I can't help feel this whole shark debate is an entire @#$&!
I think drum lines and culling sharks is just a 'there, there' pat on the back to placate some, even if you were to catch and kill many sharks over three metres whose to say any one of them would have been one of the few destine to kill.
Everyone knows there are sharks in the ocean, we choose to enter the ocean, surfing, spearfishing, boating, it's inherently dangerous (duh!).
Warning systems can't be 100%, someone has to sight the shark first, the information needs to be confirmed and relayed and there's always going to be the same idiots out there who prank call 000 crying shark.
Cull the sharks? If a person gets killed by a bus crossing the road do we get rid of all the buses, if a boat sinks and the crew drown do we get rid of all the boats or perhaps just the particular type of boat they were in, where's the logic in the cull (kill and get rid it of because we're all afraid) solution?, where does it end? Tragedies usually happen as a result of a persons chosen actions and bar small children and the mentally delusional we're all aware of possible consequences, good or bad of our actions, it's just that in most cases we choose to push the bad to the back of our minds and go out and do what we want to do anyway.
Funny but in Darwin they have their large population of crocodiles that were once hunted with numbers being reduced to an unsustainable level. The hunting ended and the crocodiles became protected, most people in Darwin choose to just stay out of the water, when occasionally a person is taken a huge culling debate over crocodiles is not resumed. It's simply assumed a tragic, unfortunate loss and understood that the person had chosen to enter the crocodiles territory. Maybe that's what needs to happen a massive cull of sharks to the brink of extinction, then we'll protect them and learn to respect and accept our place in their environment.
We should either just stay out of the ocean or accept that if we choose to enter an environment where there are sharks that we may be taken or just cull them all. 
That's your opinion, I reckon knock ,em on the head .Great whites. Between here and south Africa there too many.Reduce the numbers
Select to expand quoteMeg1122 said..
I'm not saying that the loss of someones life and the grief suffered as a result is not tragic but I can't help feel this whole shark debate is an entire @#$&!
I think drum lines and culling sharks is just a 'there, there' pat on the back to placate some, even if you were to catch and kill many sharks over three metres whose to say any one of them would have been one of the few destine to kill.
Everyone knows there are sharks in the ocean, we choose to enter the ocean, surfing, spearfishing, boating, it's inherently dangerous (duh!).
Warning systems can't be 100%, someone has to sight the shark first, the information needs to be confirmed and relayed and there's always going to be the same idiots out there who prank call 000 crying shark.
Cull the sharks? If a person gets killed by a bus crossing the road do we get rid of all the buses, if a boat sinks and the crew drown do we get rid of all the boats or perhaps just the particular type of boat they were in, where's the logic in the cull (kill and get rid it of because we're all afraid) solution?, where does it end? Tragedies usually happen as a result of a persons chosen actions and bar small children and the mentally delusional we're all aware of possible consequences, good or bad of our actions, it's just that in most cases we choose to push the bad to the back of our minds and go out and do what we want to do anyway.
Funny but in Darwin they have their large population of crocodiles that were once hunted with numbers being reduced to an unsustainable level. The hunting ended and the crocodiles became protected, most people in Darwin choose to just stay out of the water, when occasionally a person is taken a huge culling debate over crocodiles is not resumed. It's simply assumed a tragic, unfortunate loss and understood that the person had chosen to enter the crocodiles territory. Maybe that's what needs to happen a massive cull of sharks to the brink of extinction, then we'll protect them and learn to respect and accept our place in their environment.
We should either just stay out of the ocean or accept that if we choose to enter an environment where there are sharks that we may be taken or just cull them all.
Actually Meg in most cases when a croc takes someone it is hunted and killed. Regardless this is not the place for debate. RIP young fella.
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said..
Those beaches are 50-100 km away. The people that needed to know immediately were those in the water close to the attack, not 50km away.
????
I dont know if you've been to Albany but Cheynes beach is just a couple of miles from Middleton Beach and Emu Point etc etc. All packed at this time of year.
Anyway, you've reinforced my point, that the website service has proved to be lacking when its needed most and the broader population who otherwise dont have much knowledge of the ocean shouldnt rely on it.
Different Cheynes Beach Wazza........Cheynes beach 70km from Albany...and then there is.....Cheynes Beach in Albany Near the Whaling Station
RIP
The confusion is that the last company to run the whaling station was The Cheynes Beach Whaling Company.
The beach is Whalers Beach not Cheynes
talk about confusion then, the Sharksmart website is showing the incident location flag as Cheyne Beach near the old whaling station.
Cheyne Beach, Albany. 1 unknown sp. shark sighting reported. Public report 1 4.5m unknown sp. shark sighted 12:30hrs 29/12, Cheyne Beach, Albany fatal shark bite incident.
Yeah I also saw a picture of the whaling station in reference to the attack :(Cheynes Beach is about 70km east of Albany. We day trip it often. Good spot for beach and dune driving/riding, good beach fishing, and even better rock fishing. Doesn't often cop swell, so the local Albany spearo's like it as well. Generally just jump in at the point, then hang close to the rocks and cruise around. That said, as I stated earlier, I know a few guys that have had run ins out there with whites. One even got some good footage he uploaded on facey and was pretty hectic from about 2 years back.Not much else at Cheynes - 100 little holiday fishing shacks and a caravan park/general store/ fuel station. I really cant see any preventative measure's that could bae taken. I believe that website with shark reports should be better maintained, but personally, I wouldn't trust a website to protect my life.
Select to expand quoteR0CKH0PPER said..
Yeah I also saw a picture of the whaling station in reference to the attack :(Cheynes Beach is about 70km east of Albany. We day trip it often. Good spot for beach and dune driving/riding, good beach fishing, and even better rock fishing. Doesn't often cop swell, so the local Albany spearo's like it as well. Generally just jump in at the point, then hang close to the rocks and cruise around. That said, as I stated earlier, I know a few guys that have had run ins out there with whites. One even got some good footage he uploaded on facey and was pretty hectic from about 2 years back.Not much else at Cheynes - 100 little holiday fishing shacks and a caravan park/general store/ fuel station. I really cant see any preventative measure's that could be taken. I believe that website with shark reports should be better maintained, but personally, I wouldn't trust a website to protect my life.
Well said mate.
Select to expand quoteMeg1122 said...
Funny but in Darwin they have their large population of crocodiles that were once hunted with numbers being reduced to an unsustainable level.
Condolences to the young guys family and friends. RIP young soul.
As for the debate about culling, u do realise that crocodiles are again reaching out of control numbers and possibly need to be hunted again to control wildlife levels.
Same goes for sharks. Let's get some figures on the numbers and if local fisherman are anything to go by, I think you'll find that there are simply excessive amounts of sharks and a cull would be beneficial to society. No one on either side of the debate wants them extinct, just controlled.
Select to expand quoteUnhook3d said..Meg1122 said...
Funny but in Darwin they have their large population of crocodiles that were once hunted with numbers being reduced to an unsustainable level.
Condolences to the young guys family and friends. RIP young soul.
As for the debate about culling, u do realise that crocodiles are again reaching out of control numbers and possibly need to be hunted again to control wildlife levels.
Same goes for sharks. Let's get some figures on the numbers and if local fisherman are anything to go by, I think you'll find that there are simply excessive amounts of sharks and a cull would be beneficial to society. No one on either side of the debate wants them extinct, just controlled.
If the Gov really wanted to kill sharks they had plenty of opportunity when the last two dead whales showed up. They were not really interested, they just wanted the smelly whales off the beach.
While this death is no more or less tragic than any of the others, car accidents, drownings, shootings, I always have the feeling that anyone taken by a shark while spearfishing has less to complain about..
The minute you pull flippers on, grab a spear and try personally hunt down your dinner like a seal you've entered the food chain..
And there's always a bigger fish..
darwinawards.com/
I agree with your comments barn,
But the Darwin award is a bit much, I think a bit more respect to the kid and his family/friends.
Darwin award suggestion is way out of line in my opinion. We are a watersport community and I for one think if we can't respect our own, we need a darn good kick up the arse.
I thoroughly disagree with shark nets, drum lines etc. I'm often scared sh@?less when in the ocean, but accept the rational risk like the rest of us. The thought that our community suddenly decides our activities make us eligible for a Darwin award shocks me. This topic is close to all our hearts, I would have thought that would breed respect, not condemnation.
I hope the family and friends don't read this thread, but if they do; I feel for you.
Ok maybe I should have waited 24 hours for everyone to come to grips with this new reality before I posted anything on the inherent dangers of the particular activity being conducted at the time of the interaction.
Reckon 24 hours is long enough?
#IllSwimWithYou
