The Autumn salmon run on the south coast of Western Australia attracts thousands of salmon chasers every year — but it is also a mecca for recreational shark fishers.
Key points:
- The Autumn salmon run on WA's south coast also attracts sharks that feed on the smaller fish
- Recreational shark fisher William Wise, 18, says the salmon run is also known as "shark season"
- A DPIRD spokesperson says most shore-fishing for sharks occurs on remote beaches
William Wise is one of them.
The 18-year-old has been surrounded by ocean sports all his life, and five years ago he started to take fishing seriously.
"Mum and dad have always fished, dived, surfed and everything," he said.
"So I sort of didn't have a choice, just got brought into it."
For a fisher like Mr Wise, catching salmon from the large schools currently swimming along the south coast holds little interest.
"This is what we call our shark season. The sharks are naturally drawn in close to the beaches to feed," he said.
"Around Albany all the beaches that hold salmon, the sharks will come in after [them] … the sharks are naturally drawn closer."
The first time he witnessed sharks up close was on Cheynes Beach, about an hour east of Albany, while on the hunt for salmon.
"I was flabbergasted, my jaw was on the floor," he said.
"We were fishing for salmon and the school came in, and I watched probably three major bronze whaler sharks come in and scope the school out."
A few years later, he caught his first shark.
"It sort of gets you hooked. The reason why we fish is for the thrill," he said.
Responsible shark fishing
Mr Wise has a procedure he follows when catching sharks, and he is encouraging others to do the same.
"I focus a lot on the animal ethics side of it," he said.
"Using circle hooks which are easy to remove, we don't sit on the shark or crush it, we don't leave any hooks in the shark's mouth or anything like that.
"We will get the shark back in the water as soon as possible."
He also acknowledges the stigma surrounding shark fishing and its threat to people swimming at beaches.
"The more advanced [fishers] are thinking about others when practicing," he said.
"They wouldn't go to Middleton Beach and paddle shark baits out and catch sharks where everyone is swimming.
"But I'm especially hoping to clear the stigma by pushing more responsible shark fishing so the sport isn't unfairly banned in the south west, because we have seen that in other areas because the fishermen are not treating the fishery correctly."
Remote beaches the norm for shark fishers
Principal fisheries management officer Clinton Syers, from the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), encouraged recreational fishers to follow Mr Wise's lead and practice responsible fishing near areas popular with other water users such as swimmers.
Mr Syers said there was a long history of recreational shark fishing for both sport and human consumption in WA.
"Shore-based shark fishing is a popular activity and generally occurs on remote beaches," he said.
"Any shark which is not being retained should be released immediately with minimal possible harm."
Fishers generally target smaller sharks for human consumption such as bronze whalers and gummy shark.
"All sharks retained for human consumption should be dispatched humanely and bled properly to improve eating quality," Mr Syers said.
"Unwanted parts of a shark should be disposed of responsibly."
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