Great White Scare in Australia [View all]

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Western Australia state closed beaches and began hunting for a great white shark believed to be responsible for the fifth fatal attack in less than a year, the fisheries department said.

The shark yesterday took a surfer off an isolated beach at Wedge Island, 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the state capital, Perth, the department’s Shark Response Unit spokesman, Tony Cappelluti, said in a phone interview today. The man’s remains haven’t been recovered.

“We’ve had officers patrolling the beach since first light today and there’s been no further sightings of the shark,” Cappelluti said. Beaches in the area will remain closed until tomorrow morning, he said.

There are 165 shark species in Australian waters and several, including great white, tiger and bull sharks, are dangerous to humans. Western Australia, which is spending A$14 million ($14.3 million) over the next four years to reduce the risk of attacks, had four fatal shark attacks in a six-month period from last September to last March, according to website sharkattackfile. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-15/west-australia-5th-fatal-shark-attack-in-year-shuts-beaches-1-.html