Surfpolitik Choking on a Shark Story

In: Surfpolitik by Stu Nettle 42 Comments Thu 11th Feb '10

Tags: sharks , media , Surfwatch Australia

Stuart Nettle
February 11, 2010

More people die from choking on shark than are killed in shark attacks.

I've no idea if the above statement is true or not as I made it up. That was last year, during Sydney's 'summer of the shark' and, for a laugh, I posted it on a popular surf forum. The next day it appeared in the mainstream media.

When it comes to sharks and the media, real facts are something awfully scarce indeed. Perhaps part of the reason is our lack of understanding of sharks? Perhaps part of it our fear? But there is no doubt the media exploits both these aspects to meet it's own ends.

Kilometres of copy were squeezed out of last year's ridiculous preoccupation with sharks. A self-stoking cycle of paranoia and hysteria was established after shark attacks occurred on consecutive days in Sydney. Terrible incidents, no doubt, yet the reaction was wildly disproportionate and the longer it went on the more the reporting felt gratuitous rather than informative. Stories appealled to emotion rather than reason in a cynical bid to extend the lifespan of a blatant media beat-up.

And now, it would appear, the media are once again cocked and loaded, ready to go off at the merest whiff of a shark story. News broke this morning of a 'shark attack' at Mona Vale. Within an hour the sky above the northern Sydney beach was buzzing with news helicopters, the carpark thick with camera crew. When it comes to mindless ferocity sharks have nothing on the media packs finely tuned to the maxim: 'if it bleeds it leads'.

Channel Nine surrounded the victim and took the first strike, shutting him off in a media deal. Witnessess were roped in for interviews. 'Exclusive' photos appeared on websites around the nation. Experts gave soundbites to be heard across the syndicated news networks.

Shark season in Sydney had officially begun.

Unfortunately though, the shark turned out to be a wobbegong. That the attacker was the aquatic equivalent of a labrador made the whole event farcial and slightly pathetic. I mean no slight on the fella that was bitten. For his part, he looked a bit rattled even if he only had a shaving cut to show for it.

It's not the media's job to reflect on their own misdeeds - accountability or conscience have no place at a news desk - but their actions cause an atmosphere of alarm. It may have only been just a wobbegong but the false alarm, and the manner in which it was reported, builds a momentum of readiness. Don't relax, the real thing is not so far away.

The media aren't the only ones baying for blood. Surfwatch Australia director, Michael Brown, was coincidentally - and, might I say , suspiciously - nearby when the incident occurred. Surfwatch are the operators of aerial shark surveilance along the Sydney coast. Following is Brown's account in today's Sydney Morning Herald of what happened when the wobbegong got stepped on:

"I could see a guy, he was out there just having a bit of a surf and it looks like a great white has come in underneath him, shot straight up, hit him like a freight train, knocked him up out of the water.

"He's obviously freaked out. He reckons it was the biggest impact he'd ever felt in his life. Luckily for him he's had the chance to grab hold of a rock and while he's hanging on to the rock the shark's still latched on to his leg trying to drag him back out to sea. It was unbelievable.

"And then finally after what seemed like minutes, which was obviously only seconds, the shark's let go and he's crawled over the rocks, blood just pouring down his leg, and you can see a distinctive bite mark.

"I saw a bit of the tail, which looked like a [great] white,"

"I'm more drawing my conclusion on the fact that whites have a very specific hunting technique, that is that they come in under their victim and then they shoot straight up vertically and then really smash in to them to try and sort of stun them and that's what the shark's done this morning.

"So everything about the way this attack has taken place indicates that it is probably a juvenile great white or adolescent great white."

But it wasn't, it was a wobbegong...

One would expect that Brown, in his role as aerial shark spotter, could locate and identify a shark while flying 100 feet above the surf, yet at ground level, and in close proximity, he mistook a wobbegong for a great white shark.

Last year Brown railed against the State Government to increase aerial shark surveilance. He claimed shark numbers had increased and used the attacks as further proof.

After all, if the public feels threatened, they will pressure the government who will in turn spend money on Surfwatch. Michael Brown may think he is dealing in safety, but after todays incident it appears that he may just be peddling in fear.

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