Huge shark caught off our coastline
THE capture of a 500kg tiger shark off Yaroomba Beach last week sent a chill through local surfers and beachgoers.
The 4.78m pregnant female was caught on a baited drumline last Thursday morning and is the largest that contractor Paddy Dimond of Minyama has seen in his five years in the job.
The shark was so large it had to be towed 5km offshore to be disposed of because it could not be manhandled on to the contractor's power catamaran.
The tiger shark is second on the list of the number of recorded attacks on humans, behind the great white shark.
Guinness World Records reports one female specimen caught off Australia measured 5.5 m long and weighed 1524kg, although its weight is thought to have been boosted by its pregnant state at the time.
Fisheries Queensland's Shark Control Program manager Jeff Krause said the capture re-affirmed the need for the State Government's shark control program, which involves 78 drumlines and 11 nets set at 23 Sunshine Coast beaches.
Nets and lines were pulled from the water at several Coast beaches three weeks ago amid fears Cyclone Freda would make landfall in Queensland.
They were quickly replaced when the low pressure system veered westward away from Noumea.
REDUCE THE RISK
Do not swim or surf after dusk, at night or before dawn
Do not swim or surf in murky waters
Do not swim in or near mouths of estuaries, artificial canals and lakes
Never swim alone
Never swim when bleeding
Do not swim near schools of fish or where fish are being cleaned
Do not swim near or interfere with shark control equipment
Do not swim with animals
