By removal of drum lines for Rottnest channel swim, Sea Shepherd Australia expresses concerns for safety of Rottnest channel swimmers.

Today off Cottesloe beach, drum lines were removed for the Rottnest channel swim this weekend, as requested by simmers and event organisers.

The Government agreed to remove drum lines from Cottesloe and North Cottesloe five days out from the HBF Rottnest Channel Swim (which was this morning), after event organisers raised concerns.

The WA Fisheries said that its rare to spot sharks in WA waters, unless bait is put into the water, they said this would attract sharks to areas used by swimmers.

Can someone please explain the logic in the Governments drum line cull program here? The reality is there is no logic at all.

So, the Barnett Government is making our beaches safer by attracting more sharks in closer to our beaches and swimmers, and stimulating them with food.

This is just plain stupid. To add to this, sharks caught on the drum lines are also attracting more sharks as can be seen with this picture of a tiger shark with chunks taken out of it from a larger shark.

However, the areas surrounding Cottesloe still have drum lines in the water, which means sharks are still being attracted into the area and stimulated with bait in the water. As Valerie Taylor said, if she wanted to ever film the large sharks, the first thing she and Partner Ron would do is bait them in. Well, the Barnett Government is baiting in sharks right off our popular swimming beaches and still in the vicinity of the Rottnest channel swim.

Even if all the drum lines were removed today, sharks have memories and will still be coming back into an area where they last had a meal at, for example sharks taking chunks off other sharks on hooks.

IUCN Ocean Ambassador, William Winram who free dives with great whites, has even seen cases where great white sharks have swam straight past drum lines, not paying any attention to them at all.

Sea Shepherd Australia is expressing concerns for the safety of the swimmers of the Rottnest channel swim with baited drum lines still in the vicinity and sharks stimulated with bait.

Sea Shepherd is all for coming up with a solution, but when that solution is making a situation worse, then that solution should be immediately scrapped, with the removal of all drum lines now.

Sea Shepherd agrees something had to be done, but the putting drum lines in and saying something has been done is on par with saying, we are doing something about drink driving by making the legal limit 0.1 instead of 0.05. Drum lines are not a solution, they are only making the situation worse.

Sea Shepherd Australia is calling on the Barnett Government to acknowledge they have made a mistake and look at the alternatives, look more to facilitating education about our marine environment and shark behaviour, speaking with fishermen, conservationists, surfers, divers, swimmers, look at all the technologies out there, and come up with a multifaceted solution that actually makes a difference, not making matters worse.

Sea Shepherd would applaud the Barnett Government for doing just that (like we applaud the tagging program and the aerial patrols with Surf Life Saving).

Another question that must be raised is the Barnett Government also going to removing the drum lines before the Margaret River Pro?

A urgent reminder that there is still time to get in your submission to the EPA herewhich if the EPA deems that an assessment is warranted, could see the removal of drum lines immediately.

Submissions close Thursday 20th February at midnight AWST.