One shark a week caught off Cairns
SHARK catchers have caught more than 50 sharks off Cairns this year - equal to one a week.
The biggest catch in the Far North was a 3.2m tiger shark but Cairns lagged behind Townsville in shark numbers and size.
Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Minister Tim Mulherin said of the 51 sharks caught off Cairns, 25 were 2m or longer.
"Any size shark can cause serious injury or death if they attack. However, sharks more than 2m long are particularly dangerous and are more likely to cause fatal injuries," Mr Mulherin said.
"In addition to the size of sharks caught near Cairns, tiger sharks - one our most dangerous species - comprised nearly half the catch."
But Townsville is the shark catching capital of Queensland with 106 caught this year.
The State Government released the latest shark statistics yesterday, with 505 caught across the state in shark nets and drum lines from January 1 to November 20.
Officials say it is "on par" with previous years.
Last year, a total of 578 sharks were caught.
Queensland Shark Control Program manager Tony Ham said shark control equipment was in place off 85 Queensland beaches.
"The program is designed to capture large and dangerous shark species in a particular area," Mr Ham said.
"Shark interactions with humans strike fear into most people, but in reality the chances of being bitten by a shark are relatively low, particularly with protection measures such as the shark control program," Mr Ham said.
This week sharks will be caught, tagged and released in the Coral Sea using world-first technology.
The ambitious project will see scientists learn more about their metabolism and the sharks' roles in a healthy underwater ecosystem.
Researchers are set to swim up behind feeding sharks, grabbing them by the tail and roping them for tagging.
The project hopes to shed new light on how to conserve and manage shark populations in the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef.
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Sharks caught: Shark catchers have caught more than 50 sharks off Cairns this year - equal to one a week. More than half the sharks caught are Tiger sharks.
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