Catch and kill order for Warnbro shark

The tagged white shark which was detected numerous times in the Warnbro Sound in the past fortnight has been ruled a serious threat to public safety and will be destroyed, according to the Department of Fisheries.

Today, the department advised it would deploy baited hooks to capture the 3m-plus female shark, which was consecutively detected less than 1km offshore in the past few days.

Department Acting Director General Dr Rick Fletcher said it had monitored the movement of the white shark in the Warnbro Sound area since late November and had been closely monitoring it for the past two weeks.

He said mitigation strategies were used to negate the threat; however, the increased number of day-time detections in the lead up to Christmas, school holidays and warm weather caused the department to make the call to destroy the shark.

“The decision to remove the shark has been made under the State Government’s guidelines for the take of a shark posing a serious threat to public safety,” Dr Fletcher said.

If the capture tactic is successful, this will be the first white shark caught since the drum line policy was instigated last summer.

Warnbro Beach will stay closed for the remainder of today and the situation will be reviewed tomorrow.

Department principal shark scientist Dr Rory McAuley said most sharks did not stay in one location for more than a few days and believed feeding was reason this shark may have stuck around because snapper, a common food source, aggregated in Warnbro Sound to spawn at this time of year.

The department has urged beachgoers to adhere to the following advice:

Adhere to any beach closures by the City of Rockingham or Surf Life Saving WA

Take extra care in the Warnbro Sound

Keep informed of the shark sightings by checking the SLSWA Twitter account or the SharkSmart map.

Report any shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600.