One of Australia’s leading shark researchers has resigned from his position of almost eight years advising the Queensland shark control program, as members of that scientific working group say they were “shocked” and sidelined by the state government’s decision to expand the lethal control of sharks.
Announcing an $88m shark management plan overhaul which would see shark nets and baited drum lines designed to kill target shark species rolled out at more beaches, and existing drum lines used more intensely, the primary industries minister, Tony Perrett, claimed this week that the Liberal National party’s strategy was backed by research.
“I have said time and time again; the best science must inform our actions when it comes to Fisheries,” Perrett said on Sunday.
But the expansion of the state’s shark cull was slammed by conservation groups such as Australian Marine Conservation Society as an “outdated” and “unscientific” approach that “does nothing to improve beach safety”.
Amid the noisy backlash this week, marine science professor Colin Simpfendorfer quietly handed in his resignation from the scientific working group to Perrett.
Simpfendorfer had been a member of the advisory body since its inception in 2017 and is regarded as one of the country’s foremost shark experts, having served as the co-chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission’s (IUCN SSC) shark specialist group. He declined to comment.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, however, several members of the working group said they advised against the expansion of lethal control and were not informed of the LNPs plans to do so until days before they were announced.
“Everyone was shocked and everyone was pretty upset that there wasn’t consultation,” one working group member said.
“We were told there was something coming and it was postponed and postponed and postponed. We kind of had the feeling that it was going to be bad … but it was a gut punch.”
AMCS shark scientist and campaigner Dr Leonardo Guida said Simpfendorfer was “unequivocally” Australia’s most renowned and respected shark scientist.
“I don’t think anyone would dispute the fact that Colin is, not just Australia’s best and most respected and well known shark scientist but, even globally, he is up there at the top,” he said.
Guida said he would like to sincerely thank Simpfendorfer for his expertise and service in the “undoubtedly very challenging role” of providing scientific advice to “what is essentially a state sanctioned marine cull of sharks”.
“As to what his resignation says, only a matter of days after Queensland’s announcement to extend the shark cull, my interpretation of that would be that the Queensland government has made a decision that is no longer in line with scientific advice and recommendation,” Guida said.
“That this is a clear departure from scientific advice itself”.
‘Philosophical’ shift
Several sources said that in its nearly eight years the working group had been successful in getting “more science into decision making” around shark management in Queensland and in moving from lethal to non-lethal shark control – but that Sunday’s announcement marked a “philosophical” shift from the top.
Some attributed the shift to pressure from commercial and recreational anglers who report increasingly having fish taken from their lines by sharks. Many scientists agree this behaviour – known as shark depredation – is on the rise in many places around the world, though none spoken to for this article believe that a shark cull will have any impact on depredation rates, nor improve the safety of swimmers.
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Others said the decision was partly a reaction to a number of recent shark bites in Queensland, including that which killed 17-year-old surf life saver Charlize Zmuda while swimming at a Bribie Island beach in February, and that which killed youth pastor Luke Walford, who was spear fishing in the Keppel Bay Islands last December. Bribie Island has baited drum lines, while the Keppel islands do not.
Shark scientist and Emmy award-winning underwater cinematographer Richard Fitzpatrick, who has been on the scientific working group since its inception, says media reporting around fatal shark incidents may also have contributed to the expansion of lethal shark control measures.
“Media hysteria in Australia is one of the biggest problems with the whole shark issue,” he said “Imagine if it were reported at the same level we do with car fatalities”.
Fitzpatrick said the expansion of lethal shark measures had “definitely” made him consider his position on the working group, but said that, ultimately, working with the government had allowed scientists to pursue much-needed research into shark tracking and movement.
Included in the government’s shark control plan, he said, was a survey of shark populations which would be “essential”, would “not be cheap” and “must be done properly”.
“We haven’t had a stock assessment done on the target species in Queensland properly ever,” he said. “Getting that done is absolutely critical now”.
“At the end of the day our approach is to do the best research possible.”
Whether that research informs decision making or not, however, is a minister’s prerogative.
The primary industries minister said he stood by his comments the shark control plan was backed by science in the wake of Simpfendorfer’s resignation.
“The Crisafulli Government makes no apology for reaffirming the purpose of the Shark Control Management Plan 2025-2029 Plan to prioritise the safety of people above all else,” Perrett said.
The minister said research showed and a recent KPMG report confirmed that “traditional methods (nets and drum lines) are still the most effective way of protecting swimmers”.
“Until the new technology is scientifically proven as effective at protecting beach goers as traditional methods, we will continue to invest in what keeps Queenslanders and our beaches safe,” he said.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, defended his government’s policy on Sunday – but didn’t answer a question about whether the shark control program scientific working group had advised against it.
He said Queensland’s shark program – including drum lines – had proven effective for half a century.
“There is a way that we can continue to use new technology to make sure that we can strike a balance, but … for the sake of our tourism industry, for the sake of everyday Queenslanders, we have to make sure that we keep bolstering those defences,” he said.
