Beaches remained closed yesterday along Australia’s west coast after a fatal shark attack that has reignited debate over whether great whites should remain a protected species.
Surfer Benjamin Linden, 24, was bitten in half in a savage attack on Saturday, the fifth such fatality in the region in less than a year.
He was surfing near Wedge Island, north of Perth, with a friend when he was mauled by the huge shark, said to be up to 5m long.
Photo: EPA
A man jet-skiing near him said it was a gruesome scene, with “half a torso” all that remained of Linden. Surfers said they had noticed a large shark in the vicinity in the previous few days and nicknamed it “Brutus” due to its large size.
Local marine scientists have described Australia’s west coast as the deadliest shark attack zone in the world and Western Australia Fisheries Minister Norman Moore expressed concern at the trend of fatalities.
“We have allocated some A$14 million [US$14 million] extra to get a better understanding of the great white sharks and the reasons why the fatalities are occurring,” he told reporters. “I wonder if research might tell us that there are now much greater numbers of great whites than ever before, and maybe we should look at whether they should remain a protected species. This is a very distressing event and to add to the previous four fatalities, it is of great concern to me and to the fisheries department, indeed the government as a whole.”
A tagging and tracking program was introduced last year and has shown the animals, which have no predators other than humans, whales and other sharks, can linger off Australia’s west coast for months at a time.
Moore said he was open to “any suggestions from anybody as to where we go to now, because we seriously have got a problem.”
After the last fatal attack in March, Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett ruled out a culling program, saying it was impossible to protect all people at all times.
“While it’s still a rare occurrence, the ocean is the domain of the shark and we go there with a risk always,” he said at the time.
Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters, but fatal attacks are rare.
Experts say the average number of attacks in Australia — about 15 a year, with at least one being fatal — have increased in line with population growth and the popularity of water sports.
Linden’s girlfriend, Alana Noakes, posted a tribute to him on Facebook.
“I’m devastated to let everyone know that my beautiful man ... was the surfer who was taken by the shark at Wedge,” she said. “He was the love of my life, my best friend, my rock and my soulmate. Let’s remember that he was doing something that meant the world to him. Surfing was his soul, his life, his culture and his passion.”
Western Australian waters are home to more than 100 species of shark, according to the state fisheries department, ranging in size from the pygmy shark at just 30cm, to the whale shark that grows up to 12m.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese