2018-02-12
WA Greens Marine Spokesperson Diane Evers MLC has praised the majority of WA media outlets for not being fooled by sensationalist claims about a recent CSIRO-led study on great white shark numbers.
“Well done to the majority of WA media outlets, with the exception of The West Australian, for accurately reporting CSIRO’s findings,” Ms Evers said.
“CSIRO has stated very clearly that its recently completed four-year study found no increase in the population of great white sharks that visits WA.
“Furthermore, CSIRO’s estimate for the number of adult great white sharks, being a range of between 750 and 2,250 adults, refers to a single population of sharks that roams off WA, South Australia and western Victoria.
“So in other words, rather than being a ‘shark capital’, per kilometre of coastline, there are fewer great white sharks off WA than there are off Australia’s east coast.
“As taxpayers, we all contributed to this research so it’s important its findings are not distorted.
“I urge ocean-users to read CSIRO’s own summary of its findings in order to get unfiltered, reliable information: ‘World-first genetic analysis reveals Aussie white shark numbers’, by CSIRO Principal Research Scientist Rich Hillary, in ‘The Conversation’, 8 February 2018.
“I also strongly encourage ocean users to regularly check for tagged shark detections in their area on the State Government’s https://www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity map, which provides reliable information about a shark presence in a location so people can manage their exposure to risk accordingly.”