Learn to live with sharks rather than becoming paranoid

IT’S about this time of the year that we all become increasingly jumpy at the prospect of coming face-to-face with a creature from the deep.

Port Stephens has a long history involving sharks.They were so common in the 1930s that an industry was based in Pindimar to catch and process sharks for their oil, skin, fins and meat.

After catching more than 20,000 sharks the business closed down because there were very few sharks remaining.

Our pioneering fishermen will all tell you that sharks were so common that all fishing boats carried a gun.

The water around the Fishermans Coop in Nelson Bay was a favoured shark gathering spot where they could be seen cruising around the boats searching for an easy feed.

I am regularly asked: “Are there many sharks around Port Stephens?”

The answer is: “Yes, there are, not as many as there were.”

Just about every boat-owning fisherman that I know has either sighted or had an encounter with a shark and the mullet-haulers on Fingal Beach last season were continually harassed by a school of the big predators.

My message is: learn to live with sharks rather than becoming paranoid and terrified of the big fish.

I oppose any culling and it is interesting to note that the Port Stephens beaches from Boxy to Birubi have never been netted in 150 years and we have never had a fatal shark attack.

Yes, there have been serious shark incidents that are unfortunate, however my feeling is that we remain aware of the presence of sharks but don’t overreact.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE