SHARK DRUM
LINE PROGRAM
85. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the
Minister for Fisheries:
I refer to the Department of Fisheries' risk
assessment advice on the Environmental Protection Authority website that the
current drum line program will be assessed throughout and after its operation
by stakeholders, including technical experts from the Departments of Fisheries;
and Parks and Wildlife.
(1) Will the ''technical
experts'' from the Department of Fisheries include the department's
principal research scientist on sharks?
(2) In what ways
has the department's principal research scientist on sharks been
involved in assessing the drum line program to date?
(3) Has the
department's principal research scientist on sharks provided a briefing
to the minister on the issues of shark attacks in Western Australia?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) Will the
assessment of the drum line program made by the Departments of Fisheries; and
Parks and Wildlife be made public?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
Hon
KEN BASTON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question.
(1) Yes.
(2) Involvement
to date by the principal research scientist from the shark section in assessing
the operations of the drum line program includes contributing to departmental
initiatives to develop data validation protocols, plus an examination of what
additional research activities, such as tagging, are feasible.
(3) I have had a
number of discussions on issues associated with shark attacks with the director
general and the executive director, research of the Department of Fisheries.
These discussions have incorporated input from a variety of departmental staff
with specialist knowledge and expertise in this area, including that provided
by the principal research scientist in the shark section.
(4) Not
applicable.
(5)–(6) Comprehensive
catch data for drum lines in Perth and the south west will be made public on an
ongoing basis. A review of the deployment of drum lines as part of the
government's overall shark hazard mitigation strategy will be
coordinated by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and will be made
public. It is important to note that the data released in 2014 will be for
approximately three months only, with a full year's data available only
at the end of the 2014–15 summer.