Bull sharks

[steve2]

After seeing various programmes about bull sharks living in freshwater would it be a good idea to stock these to help control swimmers and boaters?

 

[mikench]

cats and now bull sharks! On balance i prefer cats!

 

[tigger]

cats and now bull sharks! On balance i prefer cats!

The bull sharks can be introduced to control the cats after the cats have beenintroduced to control the roach and tench etc :w

 

[rich66]

They might keep the otters down too

 

[tigger]

They might keep the otters down too

We not got enough otters just yet .

 

[mikench]

The bull sharks can be introduced to control the cats after the cats have beenintroduced to control the roach and tench etc :w

Burl Ives singing "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly" comes to mind! Is he before your time Ian?

 

[rubio]

Nasty critters are bull sharks. They do go a very long way up rivers and are prepared to bite anything. I remember seeing a tv show where an 'expert' was demonstrating how they were exaggeratedly misrepresented in their ferocity. He got half of his calf muscle munched barely before finishing his observation.

 

[maggot_dangler]

The bull sharks can be introduced to control the cats after the cats have beenintroduced to control the roach and tench etc :w

Then we vcan RE-introduce the Monks and get them to remove the Carp they lumbered us with .

PG ...

 

[Chevin]

It is true that bull sharks will swim quite some distance up rivers; they can tolerate quite a lot of fresh water. What is not so widely known about bull sharks though is that they are an extremely dangerous shark and a lot of the attacks for which great whites are blamed may well have been attacks by bull sharks. I have never dived where there might be great whites but I have seen a bull shark when I have been diving and being as I had to swim past its sharp end to get out of the water, I was quite anxious for a few minutes. I have also seen an oceanic white tip shark which can also be a particularly nasty shark and is suspected to be responsible for attacks in deep water when ship wrecked mariners are in the water. That shark is not to be confused with the reef white tip which will bolt away in panic when it sees a diver or swimmer. Tiger sharks have been known to attack and I get out of the water when I see one, but they seem to be scavengers rather than an attacking kind of shark.

 

[john step]

It is true that bull sharks will swim quite some distance up rivers; they can tolerate quite a lot of fresh water. What is not so widely known about bull sharks though is that they are an extremely dangerous shark and a lot of the attacks for which great whites are blamed may well have been attacks by bull sharks. I have never dived where there might be great whites but I have seen a bull shark when I have been diving and being as I had to swim past its sharp end to get out of the water, I was quite anxious for a few minutes. I have also seen an oceanic white tip shark which can also be a particularly nasty shark and is suspected to be responsible for attacks in deep water when ship wrecked mariners are in the water. That shark is not to be confused with the reef white tip which will bolt away in panic when it sees a diver or swimmer. Tiger sharks have been known to attack and I get out of the water when I see one, but they seem to be scavengers rather than an attacking kind of shark.

Rather you than me. Now I know why I dont like swimming.

 

[Chevin]

Rather you than me. Now I know why I dont like swimming.

Actually a lot of the fear of sharks was generated by the movie Jaws. While it was a good movie it was hardly representative of the behaviour of sharks. Obviously some unfortunate people do get killed by sharks and when someone does in Australia you hear about it in the UK as do many other people around the world. However, you will only hear of your local people being killed by drunk or speeding drivers. So many people around the world die from smoking related problems they are not even reported except in obituary pages. If a golfer is struck by lightening, it might make the local press. When you look into the figures it soon becomes obvious that there are very few shark attacks around the world - so few in fact that they make world news. Hippos in Africa kill quite a number of people each year but even they are not reported internationally unless the unfortunate person happens to be a tourist. You can be assured that you can come to Oz and swim around our shores with so little chance of being attacked by a shark it is not worth considering the danger.

 

[bullet]

Unfortunately, as a species, we do millions of times more harm to them than they do to us.
I consider myself very lucky to see one these days when diving, in places where 25 years ago there would have been plenty.

 

[Chevin]

Unfortunately, as a species, we do millions of times more harm to them than they do to us.
I consider myself very lucky to see one these days when diving, in places where 25 years ago there would have been plenty.

You are so right! I remember the days when, at Kinsale, in Ireland the boats used to come in displaying numbers of blue sharks that had been caught during the course of a day. It was the same at Looe in Cornwall in those days. I believe that Looe was considered to be England's shark fishing centre. I also believe that the best Kinsale marks for several species of fish - the Lusitania being one of them - were fished out and blue sharks were one of the species. I would think that there are others here who remember the huge bags of dead fish that were displayed by Michael Barrington-Martin in the 1960's. Even sports anglers can have an effect on fish populations but sadly sharks like many other species of fish are ruthlessly hunted by commercial fishermen.

 

[morston1]

You are so right! I remember the days when, at Kinsale, in Ireland the boats used to come in displaying numbers of blue sharks that had been caught during the course of a day. It was the same at Looe in Cornwall in those days. I believe that Looe was considered to be England's shark fishing centre. I also believe that the best Kinsale marks for several species of fish - the Lusitania being one of them - were fished out and blue sharks were one of the species. I would think that there are others here who remember the huge bags of dead fish that were displayed by Michael Barrington-Martin in the 1960's. Even sports anglers can have an effect on fish populations but sadly sharks like many other species of fish are ruthlessly hunted by commercial fishermen.

Until fairly recently I lived in SE Queensland between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. We used to get big runs of Bull sharks in the Brisbane and Logan rivers and in the Gold Coast canals and Nerang river.

They are a very popular sports fish on reasonably light tackle and not difficult to catch when you find them....they particularly like livebaits. They are also a popular eating fish...so much so that there is now a kill limit of one fish up to 1.5 metre. Theses fish generally run to about 6ft and up to 20lbs or so.....but can get much bigger!

Some people may not know but shark is sold as ‘flake’ in parts of Australia and is very popular for fish and chips and sold in Chip shops.

The fishing there was a bit different to the fens

 

[Chevin]

Until fairly recently I lived in SE Queensland between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. We used to get big runs of Bull sharks in the Brisbane and Logan rivers and in the Gold Coast canals and Nerang river.

They are a very popular sports fish on reasonably light tackle and not difficult to catch when you find them....they particularly like livebaits. They are also a popular eating fish...so much so that there is now a kill limit of one fish up to 1.5 metre. Theses fish generally run to about 6ft and up to 20lbs or so.....but can get much bigger!

Some people may not know but shark is sold as ‘flake’ in parts of Australia and is very popular for fish and chips and sold in Chip shops.

The fishing there was a bit different to the fens

Over here in Western Oz we eat quite a lot of shark, but mainly bronze whalers and one called the gummy shark. I think that in a lot of places it is now described as shark at the fish and chip shops simply because shark is one of the tastiest fish of all. Years ago, in England, dog fish was sold at fish and chip shops but it was called rock salmon. While a lot of people said how much they enjoyed rock salmon they would never have eaten dog fish. Another delicious fish that used to be sold in a few places in England was called Monk's tail. It was actually the tail of a monk fish and while in many places monk fish were thrown away as rubbish, their flesh was so delicious some unscrupulous restaurants would sell it as scampi . I doubt if I have ever eaten bull shark here in WOZ because they tend to be a lone fish rather than a shoal fish and they are generally far too big for casual anglers to go for them. The bronzies are more like the sharks you describe, good sporting fish that we take on light tackle.

 

[morston1]

Over here in Western Oz we eat quite a lot of shark, but mainly bronze whalers and one called the gummy shark. I think that in a lot of places it is now described as shark at the fish and chip shops simply because shark is one of the tastiest fish of all. Years ago, in England, dog fish was sold at fish and chip shops but it was called rock salmon. While a lot of people said how much they enjoyed rock salmon they would never have eaten dog fish. Another delicious fish that used to be sold in a few places in England was called Monk's tail. It was actually the tail of a monk fish and while in many places monk fish were thrown away as rubbish, their flesh was so delicious some unscrupulous restaurants would sell it as scampi . I doubt if I have ever eaten bull shark here in WOZ because they tend to be a lone fish rather than a shoal fish and they are generally far too big for casual anglers to go for them. The bronzies are more like the sharks you describe, good sporting fish that we take on light tackle.

The bull sharks in Queensland are certainly a shoal fish but these tend to be relatively small....up to 20/30 pounds.....and mostly inhabit brackish water....hence the tidal rivers. They will also venture into fresh water.

I am not sure which sharks are used for flake but I doubt they are bull sharks.

Bull sharks used to be killed in large numbers by rod fishermen until restrictions were introduced although, unfotprtunately, many anglers, especially certain Asian groups, tend to ignore size and bag restrictions.

 

[Aussie Bob]

Friend lived in Cronulla in Sydney he used to catch bull sharks when livebaiting for Jewfish about 15 years or so ago. Not that far from the main swimming beach either. Nothing huge about 3 ft long was his biggest specimen. I do remember one of my work colleagues saying that you should never let your dog swim in the sydney harbour due to sharks...you would hear of dogs being taken from time to time. But as Chevin says more chance of winning the lottery than getting attacked by a shark it's still very rare.
Gummy sharks are the main chip shop fish in Victoria , personally if i can get it flathead or whiting is better but flake is pretty decent.

 

[morston1]

Friend lived in Cronulla in Sydney he used to catch bull sharks when livebaiting for Jewfish about 15 years or so ago. Not that far from the main swimming beach either. Nothing huge about 3 ft long was his biggest specimen. I do remember one of my work colleagues saying that you should never let your dog swim in the sydney harbour due to sharks...you would hear of dogs being taken from time to time. But as Chevin says more chance of winning the lottery than getting attacked by a shark it's still very rare.
Gummy sharks are the main chip shop fish in Victoria , personally if i can get it flathead or whiting is better but flake is pretty decent.

I used to catch a lot of flathead just a short walk from my house....I lived next to Moreton Bay.......also a lot of bream in the winter. Whiting tended to be in the more sandy areas....miss it now I talk about it

 

[Aussie Bob]

'No idea what I was in for': Fishermen catch huge bull shark in Georges River