Whats your opinion on sharks?

[zeppelin]

Hi, I am of mixed opinions in rgds to sharks, Ive talked to a few people who would rather innolate all sharks and others that say, you swim and boat/fish in their territory then you take that risk. Ive never seen a shark in Moreton Bay or where they are supposed to be in abundance on the northern tip of moreton..but I have heard of a guy whose inflatable dingy was bitten by a great white and he had a close shave..anyone here had a close encounter with one in the bay?

[Angus]

See them all the time surfing at Straddy. And im pretty sure when you dont see them they are always there

Like any fish though, unless you are going to eat them, I say leave em be.

Angus

[jackman60]

if you killed all the sharks the food chain would go haywire

yeah i go surfing alot down cabarita way and you always see sharks there

[Fosh n Chops]

Let em be I say. You enter thier territoy at your own risk. They are just doing what they do. My mate had a chunk taken out of his surfboard at Gunnamatta down in Vic by a shark, although he was left with a fudge factory in his wetty he will still agree. Leave them be I say.

[zeppelin]

true that its just a fish etc.......i guess though if i had a big white nibbling on my outboard then id start it up and get the hell out of there....

im just curious though, a lot people on this forum catch bull sharks, is it just catch and release or do you guys actually fillet them?

[baheath]

Sharks are the vacuum cleaners of the sea - you have to keep the place clean!

As for close encounters :

A couple of years back we were fishing the "old" Woody Point Jetty. People catching bream, etc - the usual bag.

A pod of rays, maybe 6 - 8, cruised through amidst much cursing as they were picking off whatever was in the water.

Suddenly, starting at the front of the jetty, people start hauling in lines like their lives depend on it.

Up behind the pod of rays comes the biggest hammerhead shark I've seen :ohmy: chasing down the last ray in the pod. Shark is a good 3m+ and about a meter out from the jetty pylons. :woohoo:

The hammerhead finally nails the ray, does a lazy eight, and heads back out past the end of the jetty.

A lot of people wondering whether to rig for shark - or just leave for the day.

[Angus]

zeppelin wrote:

true that its just a fish etc.......i guess though if i had a big white nibbling on my outboard then id start it up and get the hell out of there....

im just curious though, a lot people on this forum catch bull sharks, is it just catch and release or do you guys actually fillet them?

A lot of people do fillet them. There is a thread somewhere where Ray put some awesome "how to" pictures.

I cant say I have personally eaten one (to my knowledge but who knows what is at the local chipee sometimes) but everyone that does reckons they are good.

Angus

[chris_stewart14]

zeppelin wrote:

Hi, I am of mixed opinions in rgds to sharks, Ive talked to a few people who would rather innolate all sharks and others that say, you swim and boat/fish in their territory then you take that risk. Ive never seen a shark in Moreton Bay or where they are supposed to be in abundance on the northern tip of moreton..but I have heard of a guy whose inflatable dingy was bitten by a great white and he had a close shave..anyone here had a close encounter with one in the bay?

Never heard of any GW's in the Bay but nothing would surprise me.. There are alot of them and if we aren't allowed to take some then we are letting the top of the food chain grow while we diminish the lower food chain by taking fish aswell as sharks eating them. I have been fishing for them but personally would never want to kill one.. But thats cause I dont kill any fish either.

Always the ones you dont see that you need to worry about - the ones you do see aren't interested.

[nadders]

i love sharks, i feel that people like vic hislop who think we need to kill them before they kill us etc are uneducated and ignorant of the situation. likewise TV reporters who take the stance and broadcast it to the greater public who don't necessarily know any better

if we were going to wipe out anything that can put us in danger then humans ourselves would be the first to go lol

[tugger]

they have there place on this planet like every living thing if you take that away there will be an imbalance. when they hunted crocs in the 60s to near extinsion the catfish population exploded in the north and the barra population plumited so we need that balance. as with crocs and sharks you just have to be respectful of them when in there area.

[zeppelin]

Yeah the reason that white had come into the bay is due to the old whaling station that used to run back in the 60's...must of been a grandad of a shark and come back to an old haunt. However the guy survived on the inflatable boat..the boat was the only real victim.

I dont mind sharks, and I have a lot of respect for them...its just the risk you take when you venture into their territory either diving or being in a boat. Same with crocs too. Unfortunately for the crocs after the flooding up north they have acidentally drifted into peoples backyards...they are enemy number 1 now.

[straddiebrad]

i had a small one about 6foot eyeball me as we were snorkling over straddie never went back in the water for a few weeks.

[mick fillet]

Well I have seen 2 GW sharks north of the cape at two differant times of the year. Chanel 9 showed footage of a GW shark attacking an outboard of a charter boat about 8 months ago. Didnt Vic hislop the shark fishsrmsn from harvey bay catch a record breaking GW at peel island?

Personaly I think sharks are a awsome fighting fish but a real bugger to fillet. To release them unharmed if cought is the best thing to do.

Used to spear fish regulary until one day I was in the water down only 4-5mts on the sink slowly on the way to the bottom when out of no where some sort of shark which was probably chasing the bait fish that was around and crashed into me. Its nose hit my chest that hard that it knocked all wind from my lungs and left masive abrasion marks on my chest that bleed fairly heavily it was then a real struggle to surface with no air left. This was the second shark encounter that was to close for comfort so I gave up the sport and pretty much havnt been for a swim in salt water in more than 5 yrs.

[apoklyps60]

great whites are considered an endangered species. added to the list in 2004. they have a breeding ground in san francisco bay. and yes sharks are very tasty. than have no bones. just a spinal cord consisting of cartilage. you have to bleed them right when you catch them. then as soon as i get home i soak them in milk. takes alot of the iodine flavor out. they are a very firm white flesh fish. good as fish n chips.

[roobs]

great whites are in the bay and have taken at least one person in honeymoon bay on moreton island. In my opinion they should be regarded like polar bears or tigers- endangered creatures who sometimes prey on man but who are important in the food chain. apex predators are involved in natural selection- without them we would never have evolved to be as smart or strong. i happen to think that time spent fishing and swimming in the ocean are inversely proportionate- the more huge dark shapes i see moving through the water when i go fishing, the less i swim!

[Gazza]

First of YUMMY fresh fillet or smoked luv em :woohoo: 1-1.5 mt bullies fight hard top fish

new laws bout sharks suk big time 1 shark/ray is stupid it's not like their endangered I think that size limits should apply have a maximum/ minimum size and a bag limit of 4 maybe 5 would be more than ample

I know I will cop some flac about my comments but I fish for a feed and the fun plus I have an old biddy across the road that appreciates a free feed of fish in return with out me asking gives me 24hr security the same goes for my next door neighbor doing it hard and really appreciates a free feed :woohoo: so when I bag out I will :woohoo:

good neighbors are handy and it pays to keep em handy

Gaz

[shortie]

Sharks are by catch for me. They just get in the way and take decent fish that i wish to keep.

[werewolf]

I agree Gaz that the 1 take limit on all sharks is a bit tough. Certainly there are some species that need protection, but there certainly no shortage of bullies about!

I enjoy a good feed of bullies, and will have to remember the new bag limit next season!

[Malcolm]

If they are going to be eaten then great get into em I say. If not then release and let them be.

One thing that gets me is the bloke that that does the Shark Baiting contract on Straddie was saying the Sharks they catch are not allowed for human consumption,what a waist, IMO it's a stupid bloody idea anyway

[wesfish]

yeah i totally disagree with the 1.5mtr all sharks, that is protection for a species that in the past year have attacked more then once, this is the bully i am talking about, in about 5 - 10 years there will be more then double or triple the shark attacks that will be the thriving big bully schools!! crazy i think will this be for pro fisherman and the shark nets if they capture and kill one thats over 1.5mtrs? shark nets are pointless when the bully thrives in the river and canal system that are this side of the nets!!!!

[Malcolm]

There is big gaps in the nets as well they are useless there only there to make tourist think there safe and the ones over at Straddie are not nets they are baited hooks only good for attracting Sharks to the area I would of thought

[rayke1938]

One thing that I would like to see is two shark farms, one in lake Burley Griffin and the other at the end of George Street.

Every time a polly is caught out telling porkies or breaking a promise feed them to the sharks. :laugh:

Cheers

Ray

[wesfish]

rayke1938 wrote:

One thing that I would like to see is two shark farms, one in lake Burley Griffin and the other at the end of George Street.

Every time a polly is caught out telling porkies or breaking a promise feed them to the sharks. :laugh:

Cheers

Ray

:laugh: :laugh: 2nd that motion :laugh: :laugh:

[Malcolm]

Trouble is Sharks can't even aet that Bull Sh1t

[benno573]

Ok, my 2 cents worth. Firstly, as a keystone predator, we need sharks. They maintain the balance. No shark ever eats a human, just attacks what they think looks like a feed, unfortunately often with tragic consequences. So wiping sharks out is a no go in my books.

As to catching them, go for it. No big drama there. However, remember that on excess of 100 million sharks are killed worldwide a year and on average 18 people worldwide are killed by sharks so maybe we are the ones who need to be looked at.

As to keeping them for a feed, not a drama. However, anyone who thinks they need more than one or two sharks 1-1.5m long is kidding. I get 4.5kg of fillets off a shark 1.2m long... A hell of a lot no matter how many friends you have! They are very slow breeding things in general and should not be slaughtered needlessly. It has taken crocs 40 years to recover and they breed a hell of a lot faster than sharks! New size and bag limits are fine by me.

[fishing-mavericks]

Dr Karl says that more people die each year from lightning than shark bites.

On a random note, there was one bloke who was struck by lightning 4 times... he lived after each time, but ended up killing himself.

as for sharks, they're alright. I try to give them a wide berth, in hope that karma will return when I'm sitting out the back on my board floating around like a tasty sea biscuit.

[Gad]

After flogging a 2nd grade Bronco side last night...not much

[MOC]

How can a bag limit be justified on sharks without removing shark nets and drum lines if there is truly a major decline in shark numbers? It seams recreational fishers are the ones to suffer again with no evidence to back it up.

Mick

[Dinodadog]

Sharks are safe from me, never targeted them, and if what the fish and chip shops say is true never eaten them and cant see any sense in catching them.

[noname]

moreton bay attacks.

a few years back, a friend of a friend, who usually takes his 6 year old boy out for a fish had launched his 4 mtr tinnie at dusk as per usual, all for the exception of his son.

later on into the night, he was wellington point somewhere from memory now, something very weighty gave the boat a very solid nudge, never happen twice and left him thinking what might have been.

well it didn't take too lnog to find out, nearly 1 hr later into the night while he was asleep. bloody whack, something's got hold of the boat, i know at night, it might have been worse than how he explained it to me, but this thing got hold of the lower part of the outboard column, tore some of the transom away and the boat started to sink. as he heard thrashing around the tinnie he thought it might have been better to drift away from it, like in jaws he reckoned, he was in the water for like 3 hours b4 reaching terra firma once again. and reckoned it happened that quick.

and i have seen big tiger sharks in the bay at 1 time or another, a friend and i were fishing away from harry's, got onto a grinner and saw this massive shadow following it up fast, look i reckon it was close to 4.0 mtrs long, at the time i thought it was bigger than the 4.3 tinnie we were in, told me mate to hold the grinner inside the boat, so what does he do, just hangs it over the side, bloody idiot i yelled at him, get it in. saw it once again but really took notice of it this time, and not afraid to say, i got like all shaky and couldn't stop. it was a big tiger, so i chuck out a whole mackrel for a bait, 80lb mono, around 600 mtrs on the reel and 400lb mainline, took almost 10 seconds before it took off, well i shit you not. this thing had some power but before the drag could even start working, gone. but i will never forget it. on the way back to cleveland we nearly hit a turtle, so stopped for a look, it was a mature turtle and bitten 1 bite in half, clean, so i didn't hang around and got the hell out of there pretty quick. flat out!

rob

[wesfish]

benno573 wrote:

Ok, my 2 cents worth. Firstly, as a keystone predator, we need sharks. They maintain the balance. No shark ever eats a human, just attacks what they think looks like a feed, unfortunately often with tragic consequences. So wiping sharks out is a no go in my books.

As to catching them, go for it. No big drama there. However, remember that on excess of 100 million sharks are killed worldwide a year and on average 18 people worldwide are killed by sharks so maybe we are the ones who need to be looked at.

As to keeping them for a feed, not a drama. However, anyone who thinks they need more than one or two sharks 1-1.5m long is kidding. I get 4.5kg of fillets off a shark 1.2m long... A hell of a lot no matter how many friends you have! They are very slow breeding things in general and should not be slaughtered needlessly. It has taken crocs 40 years to recover and they breed a hell of a lot faster than sharks! New size and bag limits are fine by me.

the bull sharks breed every summer, so no slow breeding there!! they can have up to 8 pups per female! the bully can reproduce from 120cm plus so that means a 2 year old shark can reproduce, pretty quick reproduction compared to a croc i think!

i agree to not killing all sharks but there will be a big problem with bull sharks in 10 years i think!!

[zeppelin]

years back I went waterskiing in the river just near Jindalee, falling off the ski's many times I was bobbing in the water waiting for the boat to cruise back around...I had no idea whatsoever that this was bull shark territory and they had recorded close to 500 sharks just at the mouth of the river. :S I am sure I was a sitting duck, lucky Im around today to know not to do it again. I know i was in its domain, and well thats the risk you take.....however if any big shark was trying to bite the transom off my boat I would for sure start up that motor and actually fly across the waves...

I read in the post somewhere abou Vic Hislop, I found a pic of the great white that Vic Hislop caught (attached), it is absolutely gigantic 6.1m and 2.5tonne..scary even when its dead..i believe it was caught around Moreton Bay and is now preserved at his Shark World in Hervey Bay. [img size=512]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/VicsRecordSharkLarge.jpg

[mick fillet]

I believe horse shoe bay peel island is where it was coaght.the day before its capture back in the eightys my father and mother were swiming and sking at peel in horse shoe bay.

[chris_stewart14]

Im with Wes.... Bull sharks and some whalers that reproduce alot and have a large strong hold population should be all means allowed to be kept within certain restrictions. Great Whites im totally against killing as these are dinosaurs and verging on endangerment in alot of the places they used to flourish. Although Im terrified of them and hope to never encounter one outside of a strong steel cage I would be very sad if such an amazing creature were no longer around.

[Little Grey Men]

Check out his website. I don't agree with his way of thinking but his story about catching "that" shark is a hell of a read.