Greg Hunt, Australia's federal minister for the environment, has released a statement to the press, "The Federal Government will require the West Australian Government to undertake a full environmental assessment of Western Australia’s Shark Mitigation Strategy."Even though they can continue the current program until the end of April, the release further states "However, as I have previously informed the West Australian Government on making the original decision, there would be no further extension without a full assessment.
Western Australia will need to refer the program for assessment under national environment law. We will work co-operatively with the West Australian Government through this process."
You can read the entire press release here.
This is a good first step. Let's hope that when they review the policy they actually listen to the scientific evidence and not just the fear mongers in the West Australian government.
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver
About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.