Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

A southern Yorke Peninsula fisher is worried sharks are becoming more aggressive around boats — and believes shark tourism is partly to blame.

Commercial fisher Shane Bishop has spoken out following the shark attack which claimed the life of teenager Khai Cowley at Ethel Beach on December 28.

It was one of three fatal attacks and six total attacks in South Australia in the past eight months.

Mr Bishop fishes in Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf and said he’s seen more sharks come close to his boat recently than at any other time in his 21-year career.

“There are now more bronzies (bronze whaler sharks) than I’ve ever seen, and I’ve had interactions with three white pointers in the past two months,” he said.

“I have personally seen shark behaviour change since I’ve been commercially fishing, including working on rock lobster boats out of Pondalowie for 10 years.

“When I first started rock lobster fishing in 2004, we would only occasionally see a bronze whaler around the boat.

“In 2010, we were anchoring just off Neptune Islands, a white pointer approached the boat before we even had the anchor in.

“I did a trip in December on a rock lobster boat out of Pondalowie Bay and there were up to eight bronzies around the boat while we were changing baits in the pots.

“They would all have been more than seven feet (2.1 metres).”

Neptune Islands are about midway between SYP and lower Eyre Peninsula and are the focus of the SA shark tourism industry.

According to the website for Port Lincoln-based shark tourism operator Calypso Star Charters, Neptune Islands are the only islands in Australia where white shark cage diving is permitted.

It says the surrounding marine park is home to more than 45,000 New Zealand fur seals.

Mr Bishop said the practice of distributing berley, also known as chum, to attract sharks near to tourist boats is training sharks to equate boats and human activity with food.

“They (tourism operators) chum and berley sharks in a marine park and the government allows it,” he said.

“If you took the chum boats away, they would be nowhere near as effective at attracting the sharks.

“They (shark tourism operators) are putting money over people’s safety.

“I’m also a surfer and a diver, and I’m seriously concerned by what I have seen.

“I’m surfing a lot less now and I do a lot of my surfing overseas instead.

“I’m really concerned the shark tourism industry is making the problem worse.” 

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 16 January 2024.