Fishermen who bled a 10-tonne catch of salmon at Smiths Beach caused a shark frenzy on the shoreline shocking beach-goers.
Yallingup residents Bill Mitchell and Michael Bibby said swimmers were in the water at the time unaware of the activities that were taking place on the beach.
Mr Mitchell said salmon fishing attracted a big number of sharks close to the shore on the tourist beach where people swam.
“They cut the fish and blood ended up in the water which created a frenzy in the sharks it is totally irresponsible, it is just not on,” he said.
“It has gradually been banned around the coast but Smiths Beach was not zoned tourism then and hoards of people were not swimming at the beach.
“Times have changed.”
Mr Mitchell said fishermen had no responsibility to keep people out of the water or install signs on the beach warning people about the increased risk of sharks.
“They should have the responsibility to manage the safety of that activity, that is their duty of care,” he said.
Mr Mitchell said when roadworks took place contractors were required to hire lollipop men as part of road management safety and duty of care for the public.
“Let me tell you, this is far more dangerous then trimming peppermint trees on the side of the road” he said.
“Duty of care responsibilities have not come into this practice even on Sundays when nippers were taking place.”
Mr Bibby said when the fishermen netted the fish the sharks followed them in and the fishermen slit the salmons’ throats on the sand.
“The blood just ran into the water and there was an absolute frenzy of sharks – there were six of them just coming straight in and up the beach – it was pretty scary,” he said.
“They need to manage what they are doing, as for bleeding them on the sand and letting the blood run in the water, that is just not on.”
Department of Fisheries acting regional manager Richard Petty said there were schools of salmon present on the Southern and South West coasts of WA.
Mr Petty said it was a naturally occurring event for sharks to follow and feed on these schools and water users should exercise caution.
“The fishing activity described at Smiths Beach, Yallingup, was an authorised commercial salmon fishing activity,” he said.
“The ‘bleeding of salmon’ occurs when those fish are intended for human consumption. Whilst blood in the water could be a shark attractant, the presence of the salmon themselves were also an attractant.”
Selim Pty Ltd fisherman Alan Miles said it was up to the government to install signs warning people about the increased risk of sharks during salmon season.
Mr Miles said sharks were part of the environment and needed food, when the salmon were in the water the sharks would be there too.
Since salmon and shark restrictions were put in place by the government Mr Miles said there had been an increase in both species.
“There are no way shark numbers would become less, we get an influx of white sharks from South Africa,” he said.
Vasse MP Libby Mettam said having discussed the issue with community members, surf lifesavers and commercial fishers she intended to raise the matter with the Minister for Fisheries as a matter of urgency.
Ms Mettam said people must always assess the risk before entering the ocean, especially during the salmon run which attracted sharks.
“Realistically, this needs to be made abundantly clear to everyone, locals and visitors alike,” she said.
“Decisions on beach closures are made in consultation between the Department of Fisheries and the City of Busselton, however this process is often not quick enough to close a beach when sharks come close to shore.
“The broader issue is the undeniable increase in shark numbers and an apparent imbalance between fish stocks and shark numbers.”
Paul Needham director of planning and development services said the city had no regulatory control over the activity of licensed commercial fishers.
“The city will be making enquiries with the Department of Fisheries on the suitability of the practice of “bleeding” large scale catch on this popularly used beach,” he said.
