SHARK MENACE REACHES NEW PEAK

Chronicle (Levin), 12 February 1947, Page 8

SHARK MENACE REACHES NEW PEAK

More man-eating sharks have been seen off Sydney beaches and in the -George's River and Botany Bay areas this summer than for many years, says the Sydney Sun.- Fisheries experts 'attribute the prevalence of the monsters to the unusual number of mullet, jewfish and salmon schools on which the sharks feed. Shark-meshing trawlers controlled by C. R. Stuart Pty., Ltd., have trapped an average of 50 a week since meshing recommenced a few months ago, after a war break 'of four years. Record'eatch is 84 in four days, in 1942, off Collarov, Whale and Palm Beaches. Trawler hands report that some sharks hauled on deck this week snapped viciously.

Surf lifesaving officials said that experiments were still being carried out with a tablet which repels sharks with its strong odour, and is similar to those-issued to R.A.A.F. alr crews during ihe war. When bags of the repellent were placed outside the buoy area at recent surf carnivals, no sharks were reported. There was still nc certainty, however, that the repellent was effective. If a group of surfers wore, or carried tablets, the odour would be obnoxious. he said, and the Surf Lifesaving ALiociat.on would not endorse them until satisfied beyond doubt of -their effectiveness. Despite years of study, Australian Museum ichthyologist ^ G. P. Whitley has reached no_ t«ositive conclusions about the habits of the Shark Analysis of attacks off the N.S.W^ co&st since 1912 reveals thgt most occurred after 3 p.m. he said. ,"A popular fallacy is that Sharks will not venture into fresh water," Mr. Whitley declared. "They will go anywhere for food, whether it is fish or human flesh, and that includes through surf. There is only one safe area to bathe — within a netted enclosure." •