swimming in shark sea
looking for memory
in pink early light
between devil deep
and wide blue sea— from Strange Fruit by ian curr
A woman who has been swimming on the same beach nearly every day for the past 14 yrs was taken by a shark.
This occurred at Tathra on the south coast of NSW which is near Rosedale on the way to Eden.
Shark luring includes baited ballons with hooked bait underneath. In this case it appears to have been performed by fishermen without permission. Ironically this is also a means of killing sharks used by authorities near patrolled beaches. You often hear it colloquially referred to as ‘shark nets or shark netting’. But there is little ‘netting’ involved – the sharks and sometimes dolphins simply take the baited hook. This form of protection is used off North Stradbroke Island and the Gold Coast beaches in Queensland.
Ocean and bay swimmers take note of shark fishing from nearby wharf at Tathra.
Ian Curr
4 April 2014
Here is a report from the local Bega News
Tragedy waiting to happen
By Ben Smyth
March 1, 2012, 9:50 p.m.
THE debate about shark fishing at Tathra Wharf has stirred plenty of emotions this week.
And the issue has potentially tragic consequences reaching beyond the edges of the iconic wharf.
Sharon Clarke, surf boat captain with the Tathra Surf Life Saving Club, said there is a group of regulars who swim between the beach and wharf every morning.
However, some are rethinking that pastime due to the sharks being lured to the area.
“They’ve been swimming there for years and years,” Ms Clarke said this week.
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