Authorities have called off a controversial catch-and-kill order for the shark involved in a fatal attack on a 63-year-old man at Sorrento Beach.
Greg James O’Neill was attacked by a great white shark on Friday. His body has not yet been recovered.
The tragedy prompted Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis to issue a rare catch-and-kill order for the shark.
A search operation launched over the weekend, which yielded no results.
On Monday morning, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) said the operation had ended.
“DPIRD has determined that it will not continue to deploy shark capture gear off Sorrento Beach and has concluded the operation,” a spokesperson said.
“There was no evidence of white shark activity in the area yesterday and a significantly diminished chance of catching the individual shark involved in the fatal incident on Friday.”
DPIRD confirmed that on-water and land-based patrols near Sorrento Beach have concluded. However, Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) began daily helicopter patrols on Monday morning.
Beaches in the City of Joondalup, between Marmion and Iluka, reopened on Monday morning.
On Sunday, Greens WA spokesperson for healthy oceans Sophie McNeill argued there was no evidence supporting the effectiveness of the order.
“There is no evidence that a ‘Catch and Kill’ order will actually make the public safe, and in fact, it might give people a false sense of security,” she said in a statement.
“Great White Sharks are endangered and are a federally protected species and it is questionable as to whether attempting to kill this shark would meet the requirement of being ‘reasonably necessary’ to qualify for an exemption under the EPBC Act.”
McNeill urged the state government to instead further funding for research into changing marine behaviour.
Mr O’Neill’s family described him as a “generous, devoted family man that gave his children so much love, care and opportunity”.
“Our family is. . . devastated by the terrible tragedy that took the life of father, grandfather to be, brother, uncle, husband and friend,” the statement read.
“He was a generous, devoted family man that gave his children so much love, care and opportunity. Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all round generous, witty guy.”
