The Australian is reporting that Fisheries Minister Norman Moore has ruled out any cull of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in response to three fatal shark attacks in Western Australia. Instead a newly formed response unit will look examine the effectiveness of shark nets, correlations between weather conditions and shark attacks, and whether or not protection laws have resulted in an increase in the number of the species.
Moore said that his department is trying to balance protecting the species and providing as much information about the probability of shark attacks when they go swimming. Additionally, the response unit will assess the effectiveness of the SMS shark alert system.