A monstrous bull shark caught around Lake Macquarie off Swansea has fueled social media frenzy in the past few days.
Photo of the monstrous catch was posted on the Facebook page of Offshore Fishing New South. It shows the full size of the bull shark, which was hung upside down and toweing over a standing man.
The group was initially bashed by some people who decried the killing of the giant bull shark. Newcastle Herald said the deep waters off Lake Macquarie's coast have been a hunting ground for those seeking a glimpse of large sharks.
However, the group clarified that it was already dead when they hauled it, citing that they caught the bull shark after "being gut hooked and a huge fight" and they tried to revive it but were already too late.
Speaking with The New Daily, Shark researcher at Bond University, Dr. Daryl McPhee, said hanging the animal off a gantry like that is not the best look for the sport fishing sector.
The photo also fueled yet another debate on whether shark culling should be implemented in the area.
Australian Marine Conservation Society noted that shark culling was an intervention used earlier in Western Australia to capture and kill sharks. It is currently being implemented in some parts of Australia, such as Queensland. It involves the use of baited drumlines. Once the shark gets into the trap, they will be shot or killed.
In matters of culling, McPhee asserted that at present, there is not enough data or information about the numbers of bull shark, meaning shark culling will not be justified.
A few days ago, a drone has captured at least eight sharks in a feeding frenzy in Fingal Bay, just meters away from the shore where hundreds of stunned people watch. Moreover, last week, Laeticia Brouwer, a 17-year-old teenager surfing at a popular surfer break known as Kelp Beds, Western Australia was attacked by a great white shark.