Shark culling

Photo of suspended tiger shark next to four men.
A 14-foot (4.3 m), 1,200-pound (540 kg) tiger shark caught in Kāne'ohe Bay, Oahu, in 1966

Shark culling is the deliberate killing of sharks by government authorities, usually in response to one or more shark attacks. The term "shark control" is often used by governments when referring to culls.[1] Shark culling has been criticized by environmentalists, conservationists and animal welfare advocates—they say killing sharks harms the marine ecosystem and is unethical.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Government officials often cite public safety (attempting to reduce the risk of shark attacks) as a reason for culling.[8][9] The impact of culling is also minor compared to bycatch with 50 million sharks caught each year by the commercial fishing industry.[10]

Shark culling mainly occurs in four locations: New South Wales, Queensland, KwaZulu-Natal and Réunion.[11][12][13][14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sharks2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Sharks - Marine Science Australia". Ausmarinescience.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Queensland - Overview". Seashepherd.org.au. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  4. ^ Wahlquist, Calla (February 12, 2015). "Western Australia's 'Serious Threat' Shark Policy Condemned by Senate". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-26. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  5. ^ Meyer, Carl (December 11, 2013). "Western Australia's Shark Culls Lack Bite (And Science)". theconversation.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Schetzer, Alana (8 May 2017). "Sharks: How a cull could ruin an ecosystem". puruit.unimelb.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Hubbard, Chloe (April 30, 2017). "No Shark Cull: Why Some Surfers Don't Want to Kill Great Whites Despite Lethal Attacks". nbcnews.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-06. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Curtis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dudley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Shark fin trade myths and truths" (PDF). Sharksavers. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marineconservation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference sharkangels was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference za was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference nzherald was invoked but never defined (see the help page).