Source : Perth Now news
Shark attack and policy experts say shark culls do not work, claiming they do more to protect politicians than people.
Sydney mum Leah Stewart became the latest person to be bitten by a shark in Australia, having her arm amputated while in hospital.
Ms Stewart, 35, was the 12th person to be a victim of a shark attack in Australia in 2026 after she was mauled by a 3.5m great white shark at Sydney’s Coogee Beach last Saturday.
The mother remains in intensive care, having had multiple surgeries after she suffered life-threatening injuries.
A GoFundMe page set up by her brother Josh has raised more than $400,000 to help with her recovery process.
The recent spate of shark attacks around the country have reignited calls for a shark cull, with former prime minister Tony Abbott among those calling for one.
The NSW government has not ruled out the possibility of a cull, but many experts agree they don’t work, saying they do more for politicians than they do people.
“There is no evidence that it (shark culls) works because the amount of people (who use the ocean) is so high,” shark attack and policy expert Chris Pepin-Neff said.
“We know that shark culls are more about protecting politicians than they are about protecting swimmers.”
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Despite it being the worst “cluster” in 20 years of research, Professor Pepin-Neff said the increase in attacks was more a function of “beach utilisation” than an increase in the number of sharks in the water.
“We’ve had a particularly horrific year but we could go another five years without a shark attack in Australia and people are going to point to the shark cull as the solution,” they said.
“But the fact is, the ocean is random. The amount of variables that go into a human-shark interaction is extraordinarily high. Hundreds of variables have to collide.”
Emeritus professor Rob Harcourt, who leads the marine predator research group at Macquarie University, told The Guardian Australia that Mr Abbott did not understand the science when he called for a cull.
“What’s the point in a cull? A cull won’t change the risk unless you completely remove white sharks from the ocean. It’s not feasible and it would be an ecological catastrophe,” Professor Harcourt said.
Four of the 12 attacks in 2026 have proved fatal.
Twelve-year-old Nico Antic lost his life after he was bitten by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour in January, while three other spearfisherman, Steven Mattaboni, Michael Jensz and Daniel Turpin, were all attacked and killed in separate incidents.
Professor Pepin-Neff said spearfishing attracted sharks due to the vibration of the fish when speared, which is also why he “hates” shark nets.
Fish get caught in there and vibrate, they said, bringing sharks closer.
“All of the data says if there’s an attractant in the water, unless you kill all of the sharks, the (shark) will be attracted to the attractant,” Professor Pepin-Neff said.
“And if you do kill them all, then you’ve got to figure out what you’re going to do with the species that they were keeping in line.”
James Cook University professor of marine biology Jodie Rummer agreed.
“I think that we’ve had enough lessons in all of science and all of biology that show us that when we remove predators from an ecosystem then it disrupts the whole ecosystem … and it takes us decades, if not a century, to fix it,” she told the ABC.
Professor Pepin-Neff called for the government to “nationalise the process” of shark management to help keep swimmers safe.
“I want more people using the ocean … so what we should be doing is have more permanent or temporary enclosures (for people to swim safely in),” they said.
Professor Pepin-Neff added there was another obvious fix to help reduce the number of attacks.
In September 2024, NSW-based company Ocean Guardian went into liquidation.
The retailer was best known for its innovative Shark Shield shark repellent device, which kept its users safe from vicious or fatal shark attacks.
The Shark Shield tech, which sold for about $800, worked by disrupting the highly sensitive receptors in sharks’ snouts using an electric field, making the shark turn away from the area but leaving the animal with no permanent damage.
“I don’t understand why the Australian government doesn’t buy the patent to Shark Shield. Shark Shield, the electronic shark deterrent … (is) the most proven technology to protect people from sharks,” Pepin-Neff said.
“It was bought by a company that stopped manufacturing it, so I don’t understand why the Australian government doesn’t step in, buy the patent, manufacture 5000 of them and do a subsidy and give it out to people to nationalise the process.
“There are things that will work, a shark cull will definitely not work, so I think if you’re putting people ahead of sharks, then you should actually do that.”
