Fatal shark attack likely if Stewart Island cage diving not stopped, MPs told

Thursday, 3 December 2015

Stewart Island residents have pleaded for politicians to halt shark cage diving in their waters, saying they live in fear of a fatal shark attack.

One islander broke down in tears after speaking to Parliament's local and government committee on Thursday, which discussed a petition calling for shark cage diving near Stewart Island to be stopped 'immediately and permanently'.

Residents and paua divers have expressed fears that the cage diving is attracting great white sharks to the area and putting them at risk.

Ken McAnergney, who has owned a crib on Stewart Island since 1990, said 'scores of islanders' were worried about the increased risk to their families as a result of the diving.

'We're being forced to share these waters with great white sharks which are now being trained to associate boats and human beings with an easy, tasty meal.'

* Department of Conservation review finds shark cage diving does not increase risks to water users

* Peters to question Stewart Island shark permits**

Locals were horrified by the change in behaviour of great white sharks, with some who had fished there for decades noticing they had become 'unusually aggressive' towards boats.

Islanders' respect for the native species that lived there was not being matched by the diving operators or the Department of Conservation (DOC), he said.

'DOC has allowed these shark cage diving boats to drop steel cages containing wetsuited, seal-like people into the shark's environment…to let paying customers gleefully film sharks smashing their snouts into the cages and reward the sharks with food.

'These sharks should be keeping the seal population down…not hanging around boats like ravenous dogs.'

McAnergney said a total ban was needed, as it was too late to reverse changes to the sharks' behaviour.

'They are a highly intelligent, their behaviour has been modified…I don't think there is a way forward, I don't think there is any sweet spot - I live in fear and dread of there being a fatality.'

'PARADISE LOST'

Outside the committee, McAnergney broke down in tears as he shared his fears for his family.

'My grandchildren came to the island with me last Easter, they asked to go in the water and I said no - I couldn't live with myself if they went to where we traditionally harvest our kaimoana.

'We are waiting for the first maiming, for the first death, and nobody will be held responsible because of the law of this land.'

Islanders no longer wanted to go on the water in small boats, while schoolchildren did not have their kayaking classes in the water anymore.

'An island of tranquility, no longer - paradise lost.'

NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell, who has spoken out on the issue previously, said he was not opposed to shark cage diving in general, but a 'full comprehensive study' was needed to understand the situation at Stewart Island.

'They're taking evidence that they've gathered from other parts of the world but we've got a very unique situation down there - if you're standing at sea level, you can see the boat operators.'

Mitchell believed a fatal shark attack was a 'very real probability' if changes were not made.

'Dare I say it, I'd hate Stewart Island to become Amity Island [from the movie Jaws], and baiting sharks in close and teasing them to encourage them to be around humans is asking for trouble.'

NO ADDED RISK

DOC marine species and threats manager Ian Angus said officials knew the diving operations were a 'sensitive issue' for Stewart Islanders.

Angus said the rules were based on best practice in other countries, while there was a 'covert and overt' monitoring regime with regular reporting on the sharks.

Overseas studies suggested that sharks exposed to cage diving were 'no more or less likely' than other sharks to present a risk to divers, swimmers or surfers away from the dive sites.

'These are natural predators, big predators, and so there is always a background risk when you go into the vicinity of these sharks, but the evidence seems to suggest…that cage diving, if managed correctly, doesn't increase that risk other than the immediate vicinity.'

Dive operators were not allowed to 'reward' sharks by giving them bait, and there were restrictions on how often it could be used in a day.

OPTIONS ARE OPEN

DOC chief science adviser Ken Hughey said the views of the community were 'just as valid' as those of scientists, and would be taken into account when the cage diving policy was reviewed in mid-2016.

A total ban was an option, as was permitting cage diving and putting more restrictions in place.

'The options are open, and we will be looking openly, fairly and transparently around all of those.'

DOC introduced permits for cage diving last year to manage risks from the activity, which was unregulated before 2014.

It renewed the permits issued to the two operators for the 2015-16 season, but with a number of changes, including tighter controls on bait and berley (ground fish) use, and limiting operators to using one boat a day.