HUNDREDS of people who packed a Margaret River shark forum on Thursday were told there are better alternatives to the drum lines used to catch and kill sharks in WA.
The community debate was held to bring surfers, divers, fishermen, business people, parents and politicians together to discuss both sides of the shark cull debate that has divided the state.
Jess, the partner of shark attack victim Kyle Burden, who was taken at Bunker Bay in the South-West, was at the forum and she thanked organisers for a “really informative” night and said it “meant a lot”.
The mood was peaceful and most came to learn more about sharks, though police were in attendance at the Margaret River Cultural Centre for the 7pm start.
By 9.30pm, organisers had to call an end to the event as dozens of questions flooded in from the crowd, and they deemed the debate a “huge success”.
Among the crowd was WA surfing champion Claire Bevilacqua, who said it was time for a “new and open minded way of dealing” with sharks, and South-West veteran professional fisherman Keith Halnan.
One man said: “I’m 75 years old and I swim six days a week and I want everyone to know I’ll feel a lot less safe when I go in the water with a curtain of dead meat and dead fish from the drum lines less than 1km away.”
Gracetown local Rob Alder, who was at the scene when surfer Nick Edwards was attacked and killed in Cowaramup Bay several years ago, choked back tears when he addressed the audience with an emotional appeal.
