2018-02-09
Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that the Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has been proven wrong by a white shark population study and continues to misrepresent the data for base political purposes.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Josh Frydenberg said that ‘Blind Freddy’ could see that white shark numbers were increasing, but this report shows we what knew all along, that ‘Blind Freddy’ Frydenberg talks bullshit.
“This CSIRO study into white shark population shows categorically that adult white shark numbers are not increasing, their numbers are stable or declining. What Frydenberg won’t highlight is that the overall population is a fraction of what it once was and the species still remains endangered across its entire range.
“I’m sick of the continuing charlatanism from Frydenberg over sharks. It appears that it is too much to expect our Environment Minister to engage with this scientific study with any intellectual honesty and to use that information to guide genuine conservation measures.
“Instead, Frydenberg has misrepresented this study to raise fears in the community and promote environmentally-destructive strategies that are shown to do nothing for public safety.
“Culling, fixed-drum lines and mesh-nets designed to entangle and kill sharks, do enormous damage to our marine life and there is no evidence that these actions makes it safe for ocean-goers.
“If Frydenberg was genuine about promoting public safety he’d stop promoting dangerous and unhelpful myths and adopt the range of recommendations put forward by the Senate inquiry into Shark Mitigation.
“The Federal government has dropped the ball on ocean safety and by failing to act on the Senate inquiry recommendations it is increasing the risks for surfers, swimmers and divers right around the country,” he concluded.