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International experts gather in Sydney for Shark summit

Xinhua, September 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

More than 70 International shark experts gathered in Sydney on Tuesday to discuss the best technologies to stop shark attacks following a recent spate of attacks and fatalities in Australia.

A Japanese surfer died in February from a shark attack in the Ballina area on the far north coast of New South Wales, southeastern Australia, while 13 others have been attacked since the start of the year, an increase from three in 2014.

Some attack victims are still recovering in hospital from their savage attacks.

New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water, Niall Blair, said the summit is about having information to then lead a science-based approach to the issue.

"We know that the number of encounters has increased but we also want to understand what's happening in the conditions that may be leading towards that," Blair told Australia's national broadcaster on Tuesday.

The experts will discuss the independent review of the New South Wales government, which reportedly identified a number of options for potential trials, including electrical and physical barriers, sonar detection and tracking.

Humane Society International director Michael Kennedy praised local authorities for including non-lethal measures in the review.

"We see the independent review and the consultation at today's summit as the first step towards moving away from the archaic idea that killing sharks guarantees to protect humans," Kennedy said.

"The hidden cost of shark nets is the whales, dolphins and turtles that regularly get caught up in the nets. This is simply too high a price to pay for ocean wildlife."

University of Sydney shark expert Dr Christopher Neff said there is little public support for a cull of sharks as a method to reduce attacks in the Ballina area, according to his latest research released on the summit's eve.

Nuff found 80 percent of residents in the Ballina region - where the shark attacks have occurred - are opposed to lethal methods in response to shark attacks with a third calling for research into human-shark interactions. Endi