DIVERS NAME CARVED IN SHARK BODY AS SHE CAMPAIGNED TO BAN SHARK TROPHY HUNTING
BY ELIZA KLOSER
Shark with a broken draw that affects its ability to hunt, most likely from shark hunting. Cedit: Juan Oliphant Shark Safe WA.
Divers are campaigning to ban land-based shark trophy hunting in Western Australia.
The sport has grown in popularity on social media in recent years and involves flying drones out and dropping large chunks of animal meat to draw sharks into public beaches along the coast.
Lisa Jane Hills is a concerned scuba diver volunteering with Shark Safe WA and after a message she left on a community Facebook page, she said she got targeted by some shark trophy hunters.
“In the city of Cockburn, it’s been illegal to fish for sharks since 2018 I think, so it was just a friendly reminder on a community facebook page in the area, just to say that it is illegal to catch sharks within the city of Cockburn,” she said.
“Someone decided that evening to go and catch a juvenile bronze whaler, an edible shark, carved my name in it and threw it back into the jetty.”
Someone found the shark the next day and sent a photo to Ms Hills.
“That’s pretty low you know,” she said.
“It’s people with nothing better to do, it’s not people fishing for a feed, this is people who get a kick out of hurting animals and torturing animals.”
Shark with Lisa’s name carved in it. Credit: Shark Safe WA
Ms Hills is worried for the community as there have been casualties from these activities in recent years.
“On Saturday a cows heart got washed up at Safety Bay, right next to where the National Kite Surfing Championships were being held,” she said.
Ms Hills also said she has seen whole pig carcasses, and discussions on Facebook pages about weighing down live kittens as bait in the ocean.
“The larger the shark the better the Instagram photo, so all they’re doing this for is the photo.” - Lisa Jane Hills
The photo to the right shows some shark trophy hunters posing with their recent catch. Photo Credit: Shark Safe WA FB
After the sharks are caught they are often chucked back in the ocean, "injured and angry”, causing growing concern for scuba divers and the public, Ms Hills said.
Ms Hills is volunteering with Shark Safe WA to get a ban on land-based shark trophy hunting in Western Australia and the petition has over 26 000 signatures.
“I love the ocean, I go to the beach twice a day, I scuba dive, I swim, but I’m thinking twice now every time I get in the ocean and what activities have happened on this beach last night,” she said.
Listen to the interview for more information.